I’m here to attend this conference, and like everyone else, I’d like
to listen to your experiences. I was the one who initially suggested holding
this conference. Since we have never held a nationwide Dafa1
students’ experience-sharing conference in the United States, I thought
it would be quite appropriate for students to convene and share experiences
with one another; the time is also right. A year has passed since I last
came to the U.S. to teach the Fa2. All of you have been
making progress through this one year of practicing cultivation. Especially
after the last time you heard the Fa, you all felt it accelerated your
progress to a certain degree. But to find out how much you’ve really progressed,
I thought sharing your experiences would benefit you. Additionally, this
can accelerate the further spreading of our Dafa.

Speaking of its spreading, there is a misunderstanding at present. Some
people have said, “Teacher has taught us to hurry up in genuinely cultivating.”
They thought I meant they should stop doing everything except genuinely
cultivating with all of their time. Of course I didn’t mean that we should
no longer do everyday people’s work. You are able to properly balance the
relationship between everyday people’s work and practicing cultivation.
The main problem is that you haven’t taken spreading the Fa seriously.
You have obtained the Fa, but there are still other people who haven’t
yet. In fact, let me tell you that no one in today’s human society should
be a human being. What’s meant by this? In a rather ancient historical
time I had already made arrangements to teach this Fa. In addition, what’s
being taught is such an immense Fa—the Fa of the entire cosmos. Last time,
in San Francisco, I explained to you the structure of the cosmos. Many
of you have gained some understanding of it and think, “So this is what
the structure of the cosmos is like.” Actually, let me tell you this: The
concept I taught you last time about the structure of the cosmos, which
you think is incredibly enormous, is still merely a speck of dust in the
grand cosmic body. On this account, think about how vast the cosmos is.
Since such an immense Fa is being taught in human society, think about
how remarkably easy it is to assimilate one person. Let me draw a most
simple analogy: If a piece of sawdust drops into a furnace of molten steel,
it will vanish in a twinkling. It would be effortless for an immense Fa
such as ours to assimilate a person like you, to eliminate your karma,
to remove your improper thoughts, and so forth. Given that the Fa’s power
is so mighty, why don’t we do it this way? We can’t do that in the society
of everyday people, because cultivating that way wouldn’t be considered
cultivation. Rather, it would be regarded as re-creation, which would mean
discarding you completely and re-creating another person. So you have to
genuinely cultivate in order for it to be you, yourself. Many xinxing3
tests will nonetheless come up during the course of practicing cultivation,
and friction will arise from poor cooperation among students as they try
to handle things properly for Dafa, and so on. All of these are inevitable—you
just don’t realize it.

If when a Fa is made public it doesn’t have its own tribulations and
doesn’t leave mighty virtue for future generations, I would call it a wicked
way. There would be nothing great about it, nothing to rejoice over, and
no mighty virtue left behind for future generations. It would certainly
be that way. When you obtain the Fa that I teach and are able to cultivate,
you still need to consider how other people will be able to cultivate and
how they will be able to obtain the Fa. As I just said, no one in human
society has come for the purpose of being human. Yet you shouldn’t feel
complacent—if you don’t obtain the Fa, or if you can’t return through cultivation,
you are just a human being. You might even drop further and actually become
inferior to humans. So you also need to recognize the importance of spreading
the Fa. That’s all I will say about this matter.

Many students want me to talk about something higher and unheard of.
If this attachment isn’t let go, you will be unable to reach Consummation—isn’t
that right? Any attachment is an obstacle. I can tell you that the development
of the current society and its entire developmental process has, in its
formation and evolution, been controlled and pushed forward by alien beings.
I just spoke about this issue today. I could probably explain it more thoroughly
if I were to use the language of ancient Chinese culture, but you wouldn’t
be able to understand it now. Your entire mindset is that of contemporary
people, so in my teachings I have to integrate knowledge of modern science,
which is actually quite shallow. Its understanding is very, very superficial.
What’s known as “empirical science” is limited to the physical dimension
visible to the human eye—only one dimension within the Three Realms4.
So how many layers of matter are there in the Three Realms? There are so
many that the number is incalculable, and humankind inhabits but one of
them. Your eyes can only see what’s within this one layer; they are confined
to this scope alone. This vast cosmos can never be sized up by the human
mind, for your mind lacks the capacity. Human language can’t describe the
way the cosmos is at very high realms. There’s no such vocabulary, nor
even concepts for it—nothing can describe it clearly. So human language
can’t be used to teach high-level things. Only through your continuous
advancement during the course of practicing cultivation can you yourself
gradually understand or enlighten to it. When you read the Fa, the Fa will
point it out to you.

How can this Fa have such an enormous effect and enable you to obtain
such high-level principles? In fact, let me tell you that a book—that is,
an ordinary humans’ book with leaves of paper bound together and black
ink printed on white paper—has no effect whatsoever. All it can do is spell
out the plainest human principles known to humankind. The book Zhuan Falun
would be no different if there were no deeper meanings to it. Why is it
that by reading Zhuan Falun over and over again you can see or enlighten
to principles in various realms at exceptionally high levels? It’s because
behind each word there are countless, layers upon layers of Buddhas, Daos5,
and Gods. Their number is incalculable. No matter how high a level you
can cultivate to, those of you in the audience will still be unable to
see the end of it even when you reach Enlightenment in the future. Think
about how high a level you can achieve if you cultivate in accordance with
this book. When it’s time for you to advance, all of the Buddhas, Daos,
and Gods behind a word can see this. As you reach a new level and are entitled
to know the principles at that level, they will reveal to you the real
meaning behind that word or that row of words; you will suddenly become
aware. In fact, it’s not that you have become smarter, but rather that
they’ve intentionally pointed it out to you so that you would become aware.
So there is a strict requirement for this: If you haven’t reached that
realm through practicing cultivation, you are absolutely not allowed to
know that level’s principles. When you’re aware of the principles at that
level, you are already in that realm.

Many of our students become anxious since they often feel that their
cultivation progress has seemed slow and that improper thoughts and states
of mind frequently crop up. Actually, let me tell you that you don’t need
to be anxious. The form of our cultivation today is different from all
of the ancient ones, though there are also similarities. They are different
in that we don’t take the path of a small Fa or a small Dao. They’re alike
because all of the ancient Fas belonged only to the lowest and most limited
forms of cultivation practice within this cosmos’ Dafa, which is what we
teach today. Of course, in teaching Dafa, its mighty powers, the path we
take, and the methods used for saving people are the best choices. Then
how can this Fa not assume such a large role? I mentioned earlier that
there are profound dimensions to the book’s words.

The Buddhas, Daos, and Gods I told you about aren’t fake—they are true
Buddhas, Daos, and Gods manifesting in this Fa. They have these mighty
powers. They are behind each word yet can be infinitely large; that is
nevertheless their responsibility. They are a manifestation of the Fa.
So it’s easy for this Fa to assimilate one person. All of the Fas and cultivation
forms in the past were merely a few very low-level forms of the cosmos’
immense Fa, and they were at fairly low levels. Should time permit, I’ll
tell you more later on about the structure of the cosmos at certain levels.

First, let’s talk about the importance of studying the Fa. In other
words, studying the Fa can further your advancement. This is because there
is deep meaning behind the Fa. Why can no other book achieve this realm?
Why can’t they achieve this effect? It’s because they have nothing behind
them, although it’s not true that they have nothing at all, as everyone’s
own situation is different. I often tell you not to keep books from bad
religions. Of course, I’m referring to those books from wicked or bad religions,
or bad qigongs6. It’s because their words also have certain
things behind them and their things are embedded there. But those things
aren’t Buddhas, Daos, or Gods, but filthy things such as animals that possess
(futi7), ghosts, spirits, and so forth. A human body is just
like a piece of clothing and a person’s mind is just like a hat. They become
whoever wears them. Why is it like this? Humans are so weak that anything
can control and interfere with them. Aren’t humans pathetic? Yes, but so
what? Humans dropped to this level because of their own doing. Indeed,
for each one of us and those of you sitting here who study the Fa, it hasn’t
been easy—you have all kinds of interference and tribulations. Whenever
you want to study the Fa, you become busy with work, short of time, and
so forth. Perhaps these seem to you like natural occurrences. Actually,
there are all kinds of factors interfering with you and preventing you
from obtaining the Fa. There are indeed some people who claim that this
Fa isn’t good. Yet let’s not judge this person, for his thoughts are most
likely not his own but someone else’s. Those bad things control what he
says. We can’t save this kind of person. Since this person isn’t being
himself, how can he still be saved? It’s because a person has such bad
thoughts that he’s being used. So we can’t save those people who directly
do harm to Dafa. There are also people who are rotten to the core and who
have completely lost their senses; although it is bad things that determine
what they say and do, it is the people who have lost control of themselves.
Our Fa calls for practicing cultivation with an aware mind. We can’t give
the Fa to someone who isn’t conscious or is muddle-headed and willing to
be controlled by foreign spirits, for how could bad things be allowed to
control our Fa?

You will encounter many difficulties in practicing cultivation. When
from time to time I see you suffering a great deal in practicing cultivation,
it discomforts me as well! Sometimes I think about when a student can’t
pass a test and pitifully looks at my picture with tears in his eyes, begging
in his mind for Teacher to help him by further eliminating his difficulties
or freeing him from the misfortune. But do you know what I think? Had I
taken away that tribulation for you, you would lose the opportunity to
make progress. Do you think you can smoothly, without any tribulations,
raise yourself to such a high realm? It is absolutely prohibited. We all
know that human beings have accrued much karma over their lifetimes—it’s
just as Jesus said, man is sinful. If you want to just go to heaven without
paying for your karma and sins, how could you brush them off, leave them
behind, and then go to heaven? Think about it: Could this be possible?
Absolutely not. That’s why you yourself have to eliminate the karma by
paying what you owe. You also have to improve your xinxing while eliminating
your karma. Only upon reaching a realm that high can you ascend to that
level. It’s the Fa that enables you to elevate to that level.

You will encounter many tribulations during the course of practicing
cultivation. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, you can overcome any
difficulty. As long as you study the Fa earnestly, answers found within
the Fa can solve any hard-to-untie knots in your heart, or any hang-ups.
This Fa encompasses how to be a human being as well as how to be a heavenly
being. I’m also telling you how to be a Buddha, Dao, God, and even a god
in still higher realms. How could the Fa fail to eliminate your hang-ups?
How could the Fa not open your mind? How could the Fa not resolve your
problems? It can do all of this. You are often unwilling to part with the
various notions developed through living in human society for a long time.
You think that you’ve made some achievements in various fields, and you’re
unwilling to let go of them. You also hold on to those “accurate” concepts
learned among everyday people. It’s usually these things that hold some
people back. Moreover, impediments extend to include: the habitual forces
of various kinds that many of you develop in the society of everyday people,
a person’s established way of life, and those things that everyday people
are supposed to pursue. These things are the most sensitive and the most
afraid of being changed. Once challenged, they will object right away;
some people would rather give up learning the Fa. Nothing can be done about
this. Whether to learn the Fa or not can only be decided by a person him
or herself. No one will force someone to learn it.

Generally speaking, everyone has an obstacle in studying the Fa. For
intellectuals, the obstacle is modern science. If something conforms to
this science, they can accept it; if it doesn’t, they cannot accept it.
They are severely impeded. No one knows why I incorporate modern science
in teaching this Fa. Why do I do this? The reason is that I want to break
that shell of yours that prevents you from obtaining the Fa. Some people
are influenced by various religions. If something agrees with the beliefs
in this person’s religion, he or she will say it’s good and study it; otherwise,
he or she won’t study it. In order to save you and enable you to obtain
the Fa, I’ve also spoken about things from religions, as well as the process
and form of their corruption. For an everyday person who can’t let go of
his job in the society of everyday people, my Fa has also even discussed
practicing cultivation while complying with everyday people as much as
possible. As a matter of fact, it’s not that I’m indulging you—this Fa
truly enables you to practice cultivation while keeping a job at the same
time. There are many other situations as well. Everyone has obstacles and
one or even more notions that they can’t let go of. Any human notion is
an obstacle. I’m not against the glorious achievements resulting from the
development of human society up until today. Neither do I disapprove of
the knowledge accumulated from the development of human society up to this
day. Let me tell you, however, that you, as cultivators, need to clear
them from your minds. Everyday people can enjoy such glories and live with
a human frame of mind, but, as cultivators, you have to discard these acquired
notions. In other words, this is the principle I’ve taught—you should practice
cultivation while complying with everyday people as much as possible. Since
you are living among everyday people, you can work and go to school like
an everyday person. But you have to let go of human notions.

I’m not saying that as you let go of human notions you’ll have no material
possessions, like a monk or a friar—that’s not the case. Since I ask you
to practice cultivation among everyday people, you have to be in line with
the way of everyday people’s society. In other words, what you really let
go of are attachments. Humans have great difficulty letting go of attachments.
When you can truly discard an attachment you will find that you haven’t
lost anything. Learning the Fa is itself a blessing—why would you lose
anything? Actually, if you really lose something, it’s only caused by your
unwillingness to let go of that attachment. Your attachment is always being
rubbed in order to have you break it. If a crisis really occurs for you,
it aims at having you eliminate your attachment. So what will happen if
you insist on not eliminating it and still cling to it? A deadlock will
result. The more persistent you are, the worse your situation and living
environment might become. When you truly let go of the attachment, you
might find that things turn around immediately, that your mind is suddenly
relaxed, and that your body has changed and become altogether light. Looking
back, you’ll find that you’ve lost nothing. It’s just like the Chinese
saying, “After passing the shady willow trees there will be bright flowers
and another village ahead.” Good things will suddenly come your way again.

Nevertheless, when these good things come to you again, even if you
have more wealth, more fortune, or more difficulties, you will find that
you are no longer attached to them like an everyday person. You will take
these things very lightly, but you will still have everything. Isn’t that
better? Why do you have to get so painfully entangled in holding on to
your money, job, or desires that you can’t eat or sleep well and always
fear losing them? Do you think it’s good to live this way? Actually, what
people can’t let go of are attachments. Human society won’t lose its form
because people practice cultivation. Humankind’s form of existence will
remain forever. Whether you want it to be or not, it will always be here.
It’s just that everyday persons make their own lives tiring since they
can’t let go of their attachments.

Of course, humans are also very complicated. The extent of a person’s
blessings has to do with his previous life, the one before, or even earlier
lives of different times. Seeing that someone else is a prominent boss
shouldn’t make you think that if you practice cultivation and forgo your
attachments you might also become a big boss like him—you won’t. As it
is in human society, it has to do with what you carried over with yourself.
You have a certain number of blessings while you practice cultivation,
and you would probably have the same number of blessings if you didn’t
practice cultivation. What’s the difference? The difference is that your
mind is relaxed. In the other case, your mind would be tense; you already
lead a very tiring life, and your mind would be even more exhausted, rendering
you unable to eat or sleep well. Of course, your body would get tired and
aged, deteriorate, and, like an everyday person, catch many illnesses.
On the other hand, if you discarded the attachment, you would be very much
at ease—even if you were poor. Actually, you won’t become poor because
of learning Dafa. I think living happily is better than being attached
like that. Yet you do need to do your worldly jobs. With more people starting
to practice cultivation, I’d say that it is absolutely unacceptable for
all of you to stop working. It’s just a matter of how we correctly balance
this relationship in our thinking. Anyway, it’s a blessing to learn Dafa.
Dafa will bring good fortune to its disciples after they let go of ordinary
human attachments. Good fortune, however, is definitely not obtained by
being attached to becoming a big boss.

Furthermore, when questions arise in studying the Fa, or when you run
into problems that can’t be solved, you shouldn’t always pursue and search
for answers externally. For example, when problems occur among students
or persons in charge, it’s not right to point fingers at others and thereby
cause friction and bring about tension. If this happens to Dafa disciples
or if you’re angry about these things, your mind will then be that of an
everyday person. You should always turn to the Fa for answers upon encountering
any problem. You should examine yourself and look inside: “What did I do
wrong? Did I do something wrong and cause the problem that suddenly came
up today?” Think about it carefully.

In times of trouble, how many of you can genuinely look within yourselves
for reasons? Of course, many of you are able to do this on some occasions,
but numerous other times you are still unable. If when you find the real
reasons within yourself you dare to face and recognize them, you will find
that the matter instantly changes and the problem disappears. Suddenly,
for no known reason, it will seem that no friction or matters have ever
happened between you and the other person. This is because for a cultivator
there’s no such thing as coincidence, and no accidental occurrence is allowed
to disrupt the course of your cultivation.

Everything that happens to you is a test to see whether you can regard
yourself as a cultivator, find your own wrongdoing and mistakes, and conduct
yourself as a cultivator. Remember these words of mine: No matter what
trouble you encounter, no matter what makes you feel unpleasant inside,
and no matter whether on the surface you’re right or wrong, if you are
to truly regard yourself as a cultivator you should always examine yourself
for causes. Ask yourself whether you have a wrong, hard-to-detect motive
that’s related to the problem. If you, as a cultivator, only part with
things superficially while deep down inside you still stick to something
or cling to your own vital interests that you don’t allow to be undermined,
I’d say to you that your cultivation is fake! If your own thinking doesn’t
change, you cannot advance even one step and are deceiving yourself. Only
when you truly improve from within can you make real progress. So be sure
to remember this: Whenever you come across anything such as troubles, unpleasant
things, or friction with others, you need to examine yourself and search
within. You will find the cause of that insurmountable problem. Previously,
during the qigong craze, many people understood that one’s own energy field
could influence one’s surroundings. In reality, that’s not how it is. It’s
because there is discord within you, which contradicts the essential nature
of the cosmos, that you find everything around you in disharmony with you—that’s
the relationship. Everything will follow smoothly if you adjust yourself.
That’s exactly how it is.

There’s another thing in studying the Fa. If we say that some students
aren’t striving diligently, yet they have read the book some; if we say
that they are making earnest efforts, yet they haven’t finished reading
even one book and have yet to complete Zhuan Falun, I’m telling you not
to take this matter lightly. Especially when you new students read the
book for the first time, if you can’t finish reading it in its entirety,
you will find that from now on you won’t have the time or opportunity to
read it. Even when you have time you won’t remember to read it again. Why?
Everyone has thought-karma, which is selfish and bad. When it finds that
the Dafa you study is so righteous and good, and that [the thought karma]
will be eliminated, the karma will become afraid and will try to stop you
from studying and reading the book. If you stop reading the book halfway
through, that thought-karma will try to prevent you from having another
opportunity to read or touch the Dafa book. This is the reason some people
discover that after reading just a little part of the book it’s difficult
to find a chance to learn the Fa. So once you decide to read the book for
the first time, you must read it from beginning to end without letting
up. When you’ve finished reading the book the first time, you will find
that all of the bad notions that affected your thinking have been basically
eliminated. The next time you study the Fa there will no longer be obstacles
in this respect. So our students, particularly our veteran practitioners,
must be sure to pay attention to this matter. When you ask someone else
to learn it (if he wants to read it), ask him to read it from beginning
to end without stopping. If the first time he doesn’t finish reading it
and stops, when you next ask him to read the book he’ll immediately say
that he has no time and has only read a little. This person is actually
quite foolish. I’ve said that a person’s body is just like a piece of clothing,
as it becomes whoever wears it; one’s mind is just like a hat, for it becomes
whoever dons it. He claims that he has no time. That statement is actually
made by that karma, which prevents him from reading, keeps him busy, and
prevents him from remembering to read the book. This is a problem that
can easily occur in studying the Fa. Be sure to heed this warning.

The foreign language versions of Zhuan Falun have exactly the same effect
as the Chinese book. But a problem needs to be addressed here. Many of
our students who translate the book into different languages always tend
to argue with one another: “There’s this meaning which you’ve not included;
there’s that meaning which you’ve omitted; this word isn’t translated correctly;
that word is translated wrong.” They often argue like that and can’t finalize
the translation. In fact, let me tell you something. Are you wrong to do
that? No, you aren’t wrong, yet you’re also wrong. Why can’t we say that
you’re doing wrong? The meaning that you bring up is indeed what you have
comprehended, but it is beyond the level of everyday people. But what’s
left in black ink on white paper can’t exceed the level of everyday people.
So when you do the translation, it’s all right as long as the words’ original
meanings at an everyday person’s level are rendered to the greatest extent.
You have come to realize the inner meanings and principles behind the words
because the elements behind them have been at work. These are a few common
issues in translation efforts.

As students are making constant progress, a problem may occur; I want
to make it clear to you here. I wish to talk to you about a matter that
particularly concerns some of our Caucasian disciples and disciples of
other races. As they practice cultivation in Dafa, many people are able
to see a situation: They find that among our students, many bodies developed
through cultivation don’t belong to the Buddha School. Instead, some are
of the Dao School, some are like those of Gods, while others resemble the
images of Gods in the Caucasian heaven. Let me tell you that your perceptions
of which school is better and which isn’t so good come from an ordinary
human standpoint. The perception is different at high levels. So why do
some of our disciples acquire the bodily appearances of various paradises?
It’s because you come from different places, and perhaps you’ve reincarnated
on the earth into various human races. But if you’re a being who came down
from a high level, in terms of your true nature, you certainly would want
to return to your own original place. Right now you’re thinking that you
want to go to Master’s heaven. That thought comes from your human way of
thinking. So in order to ensure that you can realize your original wishes
rather than your present human wishes—in other words, in order to ensure
that you can assimilate to the Fa and then return to your original place—while
the Fa that I’m teaching is based in the Buddha School, it is the Fa of
the entire cosmos and includes principles for all of the lives at different
levels, in different realms, and in different unitary paradises.

Speaking of this, I’ll take this opportunity to elaborate from another
angle on the topic of dimensions. I just said that humans come from various
dimensions and levels. In passing, I’ll talk about the structure of the
cosmos. As I’ve said, our Earth is located at just about the center of
the cosmos. An extremely miniscule number of planets like Earth exist elsewhere,
but only our planet is at the central position. Occupying a central position
has its distinctions, but this isn’t the concept in the cosmos. For example,
when everyday people acquire knowledge in our human society, they regard
the center as the highest or the best. I can tell you that according to
the cosmos’ concept, however, Earth, being in the center, is in the worst
place. Why? It’s because the cosmos is round, and various kinds of lives
in the cosmos drop. To where do they drop? Since the cosmos is round, the
left is the top, but isn’t the bottom also the top? The right is the top
(making hand gestures), the rear is the top, and the front is the top as
well. Degenerate things in the cosmos drop. To where do they drop? They
drop to the center, don’t they? Yet the cosmos is extremely complex, and
there are still other concepts regarding the central position.

There are so many levels in the cosmos. For example, roughly less than
3 billion galaxies like the Milky Way comprise the scope of one universe;
we usually call this a small universe. Then there are about three thousand
such small universes beyond this one, and the distance among them is quite
far. Ordinary humans cannot conceptualize this. Even for common gods’ conceptualizing,
that distance is still considerably long and beyond vision’s range. Yet
there is a shell outside of these three thousand universes that constitute
a second-layer universe. Continuing to go on like this, beyond a second-layer
universe, three thousand universes of this size make up a third-layer universe.
The concept of these numbers is enormous. If a grain of rice is used to
represent a universe, its multiplication grows exponentially. The volume
of three thousand grains of rice is already as large as a desk, or even
larger. Then three thousand desks, in turn, couldn’t be contained by this
auditorium. So the size of the multiples is considerably vast. This is
to say that its volume and scope are extremely immense.

Nevertheless, what I have told you about this cosmos is merely a simplistic
concept. A cosmos such as this one is still considered a particle. In fact,
it’s indeed a particle, and it is a form of very small particle in the
macrocosm. Besides this, in the composition of the entire cosmos, each
particle within it also contains its cosmic body’s different forms of existence.
There are also different layers of heavens within cosmic bodies. Within
each particle of a cosmic body there are different layers that, to the
beings inside them, are different heavens or different layers of heavens.
In these different layers of heavens there are the innumerable paradises
of different gods. Last time when I came to the United States and taught
the Fa in San Francisco, I told you a concept that was already enormous.
How many layers did I mention? At first I spoke of eighty-one layers, and
later on I spoke of over one thousand layers. This scope is quite vast.
Let me tell you that the scope I talked about, which you consider inconceivably
vast, is in fact still extremely small. If you go far away from it, rise
above it, and then look back at it, it also looks like a speck of dust
in the cosmos. The cosmos is that vast.

Yet I’m telling you that the gigantic cosmic body that develops (“develop”
isn’t the right word; I can only use human language since there is no other
language available) and expands with the Earth as its base—such a relationship
can only be described like this—is merely one system. Systems like this
are innumerable as well, and are incalculable with numbers known to humankind.
There are different lives in those cosmic bodies, and they have great distances
among them. Think about it. This cosmos is so immense that you can’t describe
its immensity with human language. So the differences among beings are
quite substantial. Humankind is always proud of the civilization it has
developed so far, such as Manhattan having the highest and most numerous
skyscrapers. Humans are also complacent with their present scientific achievements,
which are considered remarkable. Looking back, they think that the ancients
were worse off than modern people. The ancients had to ride horse-drawn
carriages, while contemporary people travel by car, train, and airplane.
People think that their developments are brilliant. Actually, let me tell
you that you came from different cosmic bodies and paradises. All of the
things that have been developed in human society are a result of traces
or messages from different cosmic bodies and societies left in the
human mind that enable you to re-create them among ordinary humans, using
these coarsest materials of the human dimension. In other words, these
things already existed a long time ago in different dimensions of the cosmos.

As I just stated, many people come from remote places. Think about it,
then: The differences among them and in their characteristics are quite
substantial. As a long period of time passes and living beings continually
become no longer as good (in the language of the heavens, there is nothing
like “good” or “bad”; the words or concept they often use is that something
“becomes heavy”), they begin to sink and deposit. When they’re no longer
so pure, light and floating, they deposit. In fact, the substance has varied;
that is, it’s already impure. The course of its continual deposit was this
type of process. Yet it’s an extremely slow process, and people don’t perceive
any changes in themselves; neither do gods feel that they have themselves
undergone changes. This is because the time it takes is extremely long—it
can’t be calculated with human time.

In terms of time, different dimensions have different times. Time is
incredibly complex. It’s almost like the gears of different sizes inside
a clock, but the actual complexity is more than a billion-fold or trillion-fold
that. It can’t be generalized with any human concept. It has its own revolution
and its own time. Those substances have deposited, bringing these variations
with them. Upon reaching the human level, people perceive the human mind
to be complicated. In fact, I can tell you that the human mind is indeed
very complicated because it went through a much-extended period of time
before arriving here. During that much-extended period of time, your life
carried with it things from every level. Scientists today know that seventy
percent of the human brain goes unutilized. That is, human intelligence
is reduced. If there were no restraints on human intelligence so that humans
could have as much wisdom as gods, it would be terrible for those complicated
thoughts of yours to exist in human society. It would be hard to say what
changes might take place in human society. So speaking of this matter,
I want to tell you in passing that the current development of humankind
is not a good thing. There’s no limit to human greed. It’s really a bad
thing when a person achieves a high level and still has greed, hoping to
go even higher. Why is it? If people were to go beyond the state of human
beings or beyond what can be known by human beings, it would be extremely
dangerous for humankind. The reason human intelligence is restricted is
that humans are forbidden to know that much or have that much wisdom.

Since I’ve come as far as this, I might as well make a few more remarks.
Consider the following: If every one of you really pays attention to your
own thoughts, you will find that they change instantly. Many thoughts can
crop up within a second, and you have no idea where they come from. Some
thoughts are quite bizarre—they are those various notions from your many
previous lives. They will come forth when you run into a problem. Every
person acquires notions postnatally that are selfish and protective of
his or her own interests, and this is why humans are becoming more and
more immoral. It’s for this reason that human beings can only fall downward
instead of rising to higher levels. The Enlightened Beings, Buddhas and
Gods, come to save people since they see these things. Of course, numerous
other complicated factors are involved as well. Gods will not save just
anyone—all of them look only to save their own people. Of course, I’ve
disclosed another secret. I’m the only one who has opened up all these
constraints in order to save everyone. Some of you say that it’s merciful
of Teacher to save you. In fact, there are so many things that you can’t
know. You will never be allowed to know how difficult it is to save you.
Think about it: Those complicated notions of yours involve matters in different
levels of heavens, different paradises, and different realms. There’s a
saying in China now, in which working something out is known as “balancing
things evenly.” How do you balance such things evenly?

There have been many remarks about saving people, but no one knows how
to save people to high levels—it’s too difficult. As I just said, all Enlightened
Beings are looking to save their own people; they don’t involve other people
and try their best to exclude them. Once other people are involved, they
not only can’t save them, but also might be in trouble themselves. It’s
because this world is much too complicated. Even the concepts of good and
bad vary at certain levels. They don’t share the human concepts of good
and bad. When you’ve affected their things, you may have affected numerous
things of theirs, their worlds may have been altered, and so forth. Can
you take responsibility for that? You can’t. Doing it forcefully would
be the same as doing a bad thing—even when you’re trying to save people.
It’s not like what you have imagined. This is an extremely difficult undertaking.
Every additional disciple or student adds a share of difficulty for me.
But I still want to save you, and I’ll try my best to save more—as many
as possible. I’ll give you a simple example: Let’s say that I want to save
you but you believe in a certain religion. That religion used to be a righteous
one, but now it can no longer save people and has become a form of politics.
So in order to save you, I have to inform you that this religion can no
longer save you. Won’t this religion be offended? So it will obstruct and
disrupt, or even do bad things of various sorts. This is a simple example.

Of course, I’ve discussed things to this extent because all of you in
the audience are my Dafa disciples. We can’t say that many religions in
the past were wicked. I recognize that religions such as Buddhism, Christianity,
Catholicism, also Judaism and some other religions in history were upright.
But in this present historical period where the human mindset is modernized
in today’s society, people are no longer able to use their original human
nature and ancient mindset to understand those religions. That is to say,
your mindset is disconnected from their original teachings. Since you can
no longer understand them, you cannot be saved by them and they don’t look
after you. Yet people in religions brag about themselves and flaunt their
credentials to have others believe in them and provide for them. They seek
fame and personal gain, even becoming politicians. So reflect and look
back at it: Are these religions still upright? I didn’t say that Buddhas,
Daos, and Gods aren’t righteous. I’m referring to religions. Religions
are created and acknowledged by human beings. Gods don’t acknowledge religions;
rather, they only consider the human heart. Although your goal is to go
to the heaven of a Buddha or Jesus, your conduct doesn’t conform. When
the entire religion is like this, can you say that it’s a righteous religion?
It’s hard to say that. I have to be responsible to all of you. I tell you
this because I fear that you may be hampered by those religions, which
can’t save you.

Like everyone else, I’m here to attend this conference. I’ll address
any problems that I notice.

As I was listening to the students’ speeches, some of you could no longer
sit still and wanted the students to cut their speeches short so that I
could talk. This Fa-conference is an experience-sharing event. Let’s not
disrupt it. I only lecture on the Fa with specific purposes, and in order
to target specific issues. As I notice problems, I clarify them to facilitate
your improvement. Of course, there are also numerous questions that arise
during the course of cultivation. I’ve said time and again that our practice
of cultivation in any part of the world should follow the way and form
it’s taken in China. Why is that? As you know, Chinese society can be considered
rigid in terms of regulating people. If we can disseminate the Fa smoothly
in such a rigid society, spreading the Fa in any society in the future
can probably be done without incurring any damage. In other words, during
the course of teaching the Fa over the years, I’ve told persons in China
how they should do things. I rectified problems when they arose to ensure
a smooth and healthy development. All of you from other countries and regions
should follow suit so that the Fa takes fewer detours and practitioners
suffer less harm. This is the purpose.

Cultivation practice is an extremely serious matter. Let me tell you
that throughout the development of human society, not a single occurrence
is coincidental. My view of the development of human society is entirely
different from yours. All human thought and reflection is in the interest
of one’s own nation, region, or even self; ideas formed on such a basis
are all human thoughts. I don’t view things this way. I don’t analyze history
or look at the entire development of humankind in the same way you do.
What humans perceive is likely to be the opposite of the truth, because
their starting point is the pursuit of happiness among themselves. Gods
intend to have people pay off their karma while among humans as soon as
possible so that people may return to their original places and then live
in ease and comfort. This is the essential difference. Meanwhile, humans
just want to live comfortably over here. Of course, this is how they think
without having obtained the Fa. If they obtain the Fa, their mindset will
change and become completely different. So I often say that it’s a good
thing, rather than a bad thing, for humans to suffer a little hardship
and encounter some tribulations. And why is that? When humans want to protect
themselves, their thoughts arise from selfishness—a self-serving desire.
They don’t want suffering, but only happiness and good fortune. But think
about it. Humans, including many people in Western society, all desire
happiness and good fortune. It’s true that compared to China and many Asian
countries, their living conditions are much better. They regard that as
great happiness, but in fact, they suffer other hardships. Mortals can’t
escape the suffering resulting from birth, aging, illness and death. Worse
yet is the hardship caused by the swing of emotions due to unsatisfied
desires. They may also feel that their lives are purposeless and that they
don’t know what they live for. They feel isolated and lonely. Unendurable
loneliness is most dangerous to humans, and it’s also the greatest tribulation
in practicing cultivation. So in the process of enduring hardships or in
various environments, humans can practice cultivation and advance themselves.
It’s not a bad thing to suffer and experience some misery, because as gods
view it, after the suffering your karma dissolves. However serious your
trouble might be, you have to handle it properly, with a very peaceful
and calm state of mind. Just as I said, when experiencing discord with
others, you need to examine your inner self to find faults within—don’t
look externally. By doing so, your xinxing is being fundamentally improved.

I mentioned before a saying in the world of cultivation: Some people
are “already in the Dao without practicing the Dao.” What does this mean?
This type of person has meager means in the society of everyday people
and constantly encounters tribulations. But whenever troubles occur, he’s
able to treat others with kindness and find faults inside himself. This
person is truly the best kind of human being. If he keeps on conducting
himself this way and is able to persist until the last moment of his life,
you will find that he attains the Dao. Why can he attain the Dao? For example,
you all know that Western religions differ from what I teach you today,
as do those cultivation practices in the East. They believe in “faith.”
As long as you have faith in the Lord or Jesus (Christ) and follow God’s
teaching, you’ll be able to go to Heaven. It’s the same idea.

Of course, Western religions are in fact also cultivation practices.
Why is that? When a person prays, he confesses his wrongdoing. The next
time, he does the right thing and stops making the same mistake. He gradually
comes to conduct himself better and better, and he doesn’t repeat any previous
mistakes. Isn’t he behaving better? Isn’t he improving himself while cultivating
xinxing? Cultivation is about cultivating one’s mind. So isn’t he elevating
his mind? And isn’t this type of elevation a practice of cultivation? He’s
nevertheless missing one thing: Our cultivation practice uplifts both mind
and body at the same time, while his cultivation way only cultivates the
mind. So at the end of his life he will be judged by Jesus Christ or the
Westerners’ God, Yahweh, to determine whether he meets the criteria to
ascend to Heaven. If he does, He will create a divine body for him and
take him up to Heaven. Our cultivation way today, on the other hand, is
similar to the characteristics of some ancient cultivation practices in
the East. While improving your xinxing, your original-body (benti) is also
being transformed and replaced by high-energy matter. This is a feature
of our cultivation way.

In regards to cultivating a Buddha’s body, it used to be said that as
a person increasingly improves his level during his practice of cultivation,
an Immortal Infant will arise in his dantian9. The Immortal
Infant continually grows. When it becomes visible, it will bear the image
of a little Buddha or little Dao infant. It grows bigger and bigger. When
it has grown to be the same size as the person’s body, it will replace
the person’s original flesh body. Buddhism believes in Nirvana10
—the flesh body isn’t carried forth. Those who have seeing abilities can
observe that when the flesh is cast off, a Buddha will emerge from the
body and take off. People of the East and West have different views because
their cultures are different nowadays. In ancient times, some people in
the West also cultivated the Dao and some cultivated their bodies as well.
It’s just that modern Westerners have lost this heritage.

I’ve been to various regions in the past few years. In the mountains
of Australia I saw Caucasian-type deities; they were all earthly deities
practicing cultivation. I also saw earthly deities in the Alps of Europe
and in the Rocky Mountains of the United States. Don’t get excited now
that you’ve heard this—you won’t find them even if you go there. In other
words, they won’t dare to meet you. Why is that? It’s because what you’re
cultivating is Dafa, which is extremely righteous. Let me tell you that
the reason you don’t sense its being extremely righteous is that cultivation
of your surface body progresses fairly slowly. In contrast, when practicing
cultivation, the transformation of your life’s microscopic substances progresses
very rapidly. Why does it progress so fast? It’s because the body from
your life’s origin is in heaven to begin with. Yet this concept of “heaven”
isn’t the same as the human concept of distance, as you imagine it to be.
Think for a moment. If you observe the earth from Mars, isn’t the earth
in the heavens? It’s also in the heavens. Take the area of space that’s
less than an inch from your finger and pointed at by it, isn’t it heavens?
It’s heavens as well. It’s not like the heavens that you imagine with the
human concept of distance. For example, from macroscopic matter to microscopic
matter, like cells in the human body, cells are composed of molecules and
followed by atoms, atomic nuclei, and neutrons, until at last they reach
the point of quarks or neutrinos. This is still very elementary. It can
go on and on to even more microscopic levels. From the perspective of the
human concept of distance, they, being in your body or in any objects outside
of your body, haven’t much distance among them and are almost united. The
scope of that cosmic body, however, is extremely enormous. The more microscopic
a substance, or the more microscopic the particle of a substance, the greater
its overall domain. One particle is tiny, but since it’s a whole body composed
of innumerable particles, it is extremely enormous and even surpasses the
scope of the dimension of humans. The dimension of humans looks really
large, when in fact it’s not large at all.

During your practice of cultivation, no matter what type of trouble
you encounter, as long as you can start by examining yourself for the cause,
you will be able to resolve any kind of problem. You have to search inside
yourself when you encounter problems. As I said earlier, it’s not because
others treat you improperly, but rather that there’s something wrong on
your part. For example, if the grand cosmic body is in harmony but there
is discordance on your part, and a knotty situation occurs only where you
are, you are the one who isn’t in accord with others. When you spot the
cause within yourself and correct that problem, the situation will become
harmonious and calm, and everyone will treat you nicely once again. I used
a simple example to illustrate this principle.

Since this is a Fa-conference and people are here to present their speeches,
I think it should carry on. Tomorrow I’ll speak to you again and then answer
your questions.

I’ve told you that practicing cultivation is not easy. You have endured
many hardships. Enduring hardships only occurs in upright religions or
upright cultivation practices. If a practice can be carried out smoothly
without any tribulations, it can’t be called a cultivation practice and
it cannot lead one to reach Consummation—this is an absolute truth.

Speaking of cultivation practices, I’ll take this opportunity to address
the array of diverse religions existing in society today. I’d also like
to make it clear that our Falun Dafa is not a religion, and I will never
engage in religion. Our Falun Dafa is absolutely not a religion. Let me
also tell you that corresponding with the Fa’s dissemination in society
there exists in certain levels of this cosmos a principle called “mutual-generation
and mutual-inhibition.” That is, while I’m teaching the righteous Fa, evil
teachings also emerge in turn. This is caused by the principle of mutual-generation
and mutual-inhibition. Which practice one adopts and what principle one
chooses to enlighten to in this situation are what’s looked at. Because
humans fell to this level of their own accord, they thereby created for
themselves the obstacle of being deluded. In the midst of this maze, whether
you can still recognize a righteous cultivation way and what you seek after
become critical. In fact, it hasn’t been easy for you to be able to sit
here and obtain the Fa. You have no idea which of your various consciousnesses
have—whether intentionally or unintentionally—led you to overcome many
difficulties so that you could obtain this Fa.

There are also some cults that are spreading. All of them teach about
the end of the world—they all talk about these things. Of course, I’ve
said that catastrophes do exist. Buddhism also believes in them, and Christianity,
Catholicism, and Daoism share the same viewpoint. This is the law of the
cosmos’ evolution, but it’s absolutely not like what the cults have professed.
Moreover, I’ve also observed that such an event might indeed exist at a
certain period in time, but it’s not unsolvable. I can proclaim here to
everyone in all earnestness that all of those alleged catastrophes on earth,
the doom of the universe, and things of this sort in the year 1999 are
absolutely nonexistent. Why would there be catastrophes? Let me tell you
a principle. Suppose that as humankind’s morality decays, all matter is
rotting. In other words, it has become tainted. At present, the cultures
of humankind are in a muddle—they are messy combinations of all sorts,
and human races are becoming more and more mixed. These have indeed driven
humankind to slide to a very dangerous stage—this is certain. As I said,
catastrophes happen because humankind is depraved.

Why are those so-called “catastrophes” non-existent, then? I said that
there are now 100 million people in China studying our Dafa. We also have
many disciples everywhere throughout the world studying this Dafa. The
number has become quite sizable. If all of them are trying to be kindhearted,
are cultivating, and are behaving as good people, what would happen to
all these good people if the universe or Earth were destroyed? Isn’t this
the principle? Destruction is only carried out when the planet is no longer
good. With so many good people around, how could it be destroyed? In other
words, such danger no longer exists. (Applause) I’ve told you this because
everyone sitting here came to study the Fa. Since I’ve already touched
on this issue, I’ll explain it to you in detail to further dispel those
evil things and chaotic ideas.

You all know that I’m teaching the Fa and offering salvation to people.
Because all of you have benefited personally, everyone here believes it.
You have truly learned this starting from the Fa and its principles. I
can tell you, however, that I’m not here to only offer salvation to people;
what I’m doing includes offering salvation to people. Since the concepts
I’m talking about are of a very high level, some beginners among you may
find them hard to accept. I spoke before regarding the matter of when the
entire cosmos deviates from the essential nature of the cosmos and becomes
impure (regarding the nature of the cosmos, I have already explained this
clearly in Zhuan Falun—Zhen-Shan-Ren11 is the essential
nature of the cosmos). When all creatures, matter, and beings in the cosmos
become impure, it’s a deviation from the essential nature of the cosmos;
it deviates from the Fa. The Fa of the cosmos has created living environments
for beings at different levels. When the beings and substances over a long
period of time become impure, they no longer fulfill the Fa’s requirements
at that level. This is why beings can drop down—they descend when they
no longer conform. The worse they become, the lower they drop until they
reach the level of humankind. Yet this isn’t the last stop.

In this scenario, if that kind of problem occurs for substances on a
large, full scale, the danger will become very serious and hard to detect.
Had I not taught this Fa, and had you not come to study this Fa, no one
would realize the current human society’s degree of deterioration. Because
you’ve studied the Fa and have come to understand, when you look back at
human society you can see how bad humankind has become. So although today
I’ve taught you this Fa of the cosmos, in the past even gods didn’t know
of it. No beings were allowed to know that there is a Fa in the cosmos.
They only knew that the cosmos had different requirements for the way beings
at each level were to be—they didn’t know anything specific at all. So
even though it’s been a long period of time in the cosmos during which
they have deviated slowly from its Fa, they can’t sense the process of
transition. I’ve undertaken a task this huge. Why am I doing this? There
are reasons behind it. I can’t describe them now, of course.

What I’m saying is that this task that I am undertaking doesn’t just
offer salvation to human beings. I also want to rectify all deviated lives
and substances. (Applause) Otherwise, it will be dangerous up there as
well, and you’ll have no safe place to stay, no matter how high a level
I enable you to cultivate to. So all this needed to be done. You have no
idea how difficult it is to do such a thing. Even though I’ve explained
this to you, you nonetheless can’t see what I have done over on that other
side. The image I carry is simply of a human being, Li Hongzhi, with a
complete human figure sitting here talking to you. So you should just regard
me as a human being like you. What I’ve discussed isn’t alarmist talk—I’m
only teaching the Fa and telling you the principles of the cosmos. Whether
to believe it and whether you can cultivate are fully up to you, yourselves.

Having said that, I’d also like to take this opportunity to inform you
that this cosmos has basically been rectified, leaving only humankind and
substances in this most exterior layer still unfinished; but completion
is in progress. My gong12 is able to completely restrain
this layer of matter from splitting, exploding, or other such activities—it
can fully restrain it. (Applause) So the phenomena predicted in history
absolutely no longer exist. Of course, I’ve also mentioned that for me
to do this task, I have to rectify whatever is to be retained. I gave the
example of a bad apple before. If the apple is already rotten, keeping
it would be a bad deed. To the eyes of beings in very high realms, humankind
is like garbage. They don’t regard humans as their species: “You want to
spare them, why? If you keep them, you must rectify them.” This doesn’t
just apply to humankind—all substances, plants, animals, and numerous things
on the earth are included.

What I do today is for the purpose of rectifying humankind and the substances
of the entire earth—I can do all of this. Since it’s not necessary for
other organisms, plants, and animals to understand the Fa, I can just convert
them directly—directly re-creating or assimilating them. All the same,
let’s only talk about humans. It’s impossible to rectify every person on
earth. Why is that? It’s because some people have become too bad to be
allowed to know about the Fa. Even if they know the Fa, they’re not permitted
to learn it since they are no longer deserving. There are a considerable
number of people like this; it’s a pretty large number. What’s to be done?
Never have I said that there would be catastrophes happening to humankind
or to the earth. Yet I can tell you that it’s no coincidence that so many
incurable diseases and all kinds of natural disasters occur in society
nowadays. Modern science can’t recognize that all substances are living
beings and that all of them have a living side; it only explains physical
phenomena at a superficial level, and it can’t reveal the living nature
of substances. So it’s certain that humankind will experience elimination
on a large scale. Those who aren’t so good will certainly be eliminated.
It’s like the human body’s need to metabolize: Unfit parts are eliminated.
This type of thing will happen.

In fact, this type of thing has happened in every historical period.
It’s been like this for several thousand years. Humans are eliminating
the stale and incorporating the fresh; their bodies are metabolizing. So
is the earth and so are human societies; there are births and deaths. Yet
what I’m saying is that there will be this kind of occurrence that’s more
devastating and on a larger scale. People who truly have a lot of karma
will no longer be able to continue to exist like this. So how can the earth
be preserved? Just as with your practice of cultivation, as your bodies
are being transformed, so is the new earth being made. Some people wonder
if once the new earth is made we’ll ride on something to be transported
over. That’s a human way of thinking and a human concept.

As I said earlier, all matter in the cosmos is formed through sequential
formation of microscopic substances and particles that constitute bigger
particles until they reach the level of cells—particles the size of molecules
that can be observed today by humans. That is, all substances below the
level of molecules have been renewed, and only this surface level of molecules
or even more exterior levels are left. In other words, the earth, as formed
by microscopic particles under the surface level of molecules, is already
a new earth. These substances at the surface-level dimension will let the
good people, who are kept to go on to the new earth, one day unwittingly
find that the world has suddenly changed; or they may wake up one morning
and discover that everything on earth has been renewed. Other than that,
humans might not feel anything else. People will be able to sense the change,
but there won’t be any shock waves.

Why is that? It’s because every level of matter below the surface level
is composed of microscopic matter. And when the microscopic matter disintegrates,
the matter at the surface level also disintegrates and disappears; its
disintegration is unnoticeable and imperceptible, just like that of mist
and smoke. At that time, humans will still be in the same spot but already
on the new earth. My purpose of telling you these things is to inform everyone
that on the one hand, so-called catastrophes don’t exist; on the other
hand, it’s dangerous not to be a good person. This issue relates directly
to our humankind today as well as to our cultivation practice.

Next, I’ll take this opportunity to also tell you that nobody should
seek novelty in my words, quote them out of context, or disseminate them
recklessly with an attachment of zealotry or various other attachments.
You, as disciples, should know what to do. I still feel that some people
can’t keep things to themselves. Let me explain this further. Why are humans
what they are? Why are they said to be so deficient? For one thing, they
have little wisdom. Additionally, they have to accomplish things by using
their hands and feet, through physical labor and hard work. A god, by contrast,
doesn’t need to move his hands or feet to once in a while get things done.
That god can do it with his mind—whatever he thinks of will come true.
It’s because a god’s gong exists in particles ranging from the extremely
microscopic to the very macroscopic, and every one of those particles carries
that god’s image. His gong contains particles of all sizes. Whenever that
god wants to form an object, he will create it simultaneously from the
most microscopic level to all other levels, as well as to the surface level.
As that god thinks, his gong brings the object, which was nonexistent,
into being, and in a very fast time-field. This is why a Buddha has such
great abilities and a God is so powerful.

Human beings, on the other hand, are the most deficient. They have to
labor with their own physical bodies to accomplish anything. To construct
a building, so many people need to go up and down, just like hundreds of
molecules that are busy working here and there, back and forth. This is
the clumsiest method. What’s more, when a Buddha wants to do something—unlike
human beings who do things in this human time—it’s done in the dimension
of the fastest time. So it can be accomplished instantly in this dimension;
in the human field of time, it seems to be accomplished by just a thought.
The higher one’s cultivation level, the more powerful one is and the more
time-fields one can command.

Next, I will answer questions.

Question: My four-year-old son likes to read and recite Teacher’s
Zhuan Falun and scriptures very much, but he doesn’t like to do the exercises.
Does it count as cultivation?

Teacher: Young children aren’t the same as us adults. Young children
like to play. This is their nature, and it can’t be regarded as an attachment
since they just live this way. If a child is able to study the Fa, it’s
best to let him study it. I like to watch children very much because their
thoughts, minds, and bodies are so pure. If they practice cultivation they
can proceed really fast. They don’t have any of the attachments developed
later on in life. When listening to teachings of the Fa, some children
play at the same time as they listen, as if they don’t hear anything. In
fact, they hear it all. If you ask them, you will find that they know everything.
It’s very good if a child can perform the exercises, but it’s not feasible
if he’s too young. Since he’s a young child, he has to play. Young children
need to be treated differently.

Question: When spreading the Fa among Caucasians, we’ve noticed that
some of them can’t let go of their faith in Jesus. What kind of impact
does this have on their cultivation in Dafa?

Teacher: I’ve discussed the matter of “no second cultivation
way.” If one can’t focus on cultivating Dafa exclusively, one cannot reach
Consummation in our Dafa. I already said earlier that the entire cosmos,
or an even greater reach, has deviated from the Fa. Doesn’t that include
humankind? Weren’t religions established by human beings? If all beings
in the cosmos have deviated from the Fa, do the beings that have deviated
from the Fa not include the heavens that humans believe in? If the heavens
of Buddhas, Daos, and Gods are all part of it, think about what kind of
problem this is. Regardless of who taught in those years—Jesus, Sakyamuni,
Lao Zi, or Yahweh—at the time when they did their teaching, all beings
and lives in the cosmos had already deviated for a long time from the essential
nature of the cosmos.

Let me give you an example in the coarsest language. Suppose the heavens
of Buddhas and Gods are made of gold, but that over the course of a long
period of time they had become impure and no longer of solid gold. They
were still made of gold, but the gold was only 18-carat or 16-carat. Today,
the Fa is rectified; the gold is pure, solid, and 24-carat. Nevertheless,
the religions or cultivation practices they left behind all came from the
18-carat-gold or 16-carat-gold periods, and they can’t meet the criteria
for the new heavens of Gods and Buddhas. Could a person still return to
a heaven of 24-carat pure gold? Even if one such molecule were to return,
it would contaminate that heaven; so this isn’t allowed to happen. Isn’t
that the case? So I’m taking this opportunity to tell you that none of
the religions in the world today—which includes all of those righteous
ones taught by Buddhas, which I won’t call wicked—can provide the means
for humans to reach Consummation anymore.

Regardless of which religion a person chooses and how well he cultivates,
even if he completely follows what was taught by a Buddha or Jesus in those
years, the most he can accomplish is to reach the highest principle then
taught by Sakyamuni or Jesus. Yet it’s only of 16 or 18-carat gold. Could
he still return to a heaven of solid gold? This isn’t to say that Sakyamuni
and Jesus aren’t good enough. What I’m saying is that beings in the entire
cosmos have deviated from the Fa, and both of them are just among the elements—that’s
the case. I won’t go into detail, as it’s a big issue. Humans just obstinately
stick to a wrong course; they only believe what they can see now. Humans
also have a very serious and ingrained habit—they don’t look at things
rationally; rather, they like to do them emotionally. Because of their
emotions, they can’t forgo things inherited from ancient times and don’t
use their rationality to analyze what exactly is right or wrong.

Question: What should we take note of when spreading the Fa to Caucasians?

Teacher: People of the white race have a different way of thinking
from people of the yellow race, like us, so you should take their special
traits into consideration. Don’t baffle them by using the really complicated
Chinese ways of thinking and language. That would make them think “this
is too difficult,” and a good result might not be achieved. So my suggestion
is this: In your effort to let Caucasians obtain the Fa, show them China
Falun Gong (Revised Version) first. After they’ve studied it, they can
then read Zhuan Falun. This way, learning will be relatively easy for them.
If they begin by reading Zhuan Falun, it’s likely that most of them will
give up in the event that they don’t understand. Of course, there are also
some who are exceptionally good and can get into it right from the first
glance. Another problem is that you need to find ways to have them finish
reading the book on the first try. If they stop halfway through, it will
be hard for them to again find time to read it; if you then ask them to
study it or read it, they’re bound to say that they have no time. This
is always the case. In fact, it’s thought-karma that prevents them from
continuing to read the book, because it’s frightened. After reading this
book, their thought-karma can be eliminated.

Question: We’ve introduced Dafa to American radio stations, television
stations, and newspapers, but haven’t received any responses. Should we
continue these efforts?

Teacher: I’ll tell everyone a principle. All of you probably
know about my consistent way of doing things. I have said that no form
of religion will ever be practiced; I don’t write down your names one by
one in a membership roster like those of everyday people. We have no formalities,
no office, and nothing tangible. Anything tangible can induce human attachments
and so has no place in cultivation practice. What we should let go of is
not just money, wealth, renown, and self-interest. Let me tell you this:
Since our Fa is spread in human society and is simply so immense, relatively
speaking, the requirements for spreading such a great Fa have to be the
highest. You have no idea why I’ve taken such a formless way. Because our
Fa is so grand, to do It justice we have to take a “great way without form”
to spread this Fa in the secular world. Many have come before to teach
Fa, such as Buddhas, the Western God Jesus Christ, and even Yahweh. All
of them gathered people together, fearing that people otherwise wouldn’t
study it well or would drop down. So people were assembled to cultivate
together. Sakyamuni required his disciples to have their heads shaved and
put on kasayas13. The disciples of Jesus entered monasteries.
I can tell you that the reason they did that was because the Fa they preached
was lesser. They couldn’t save people without such requirements. By contrast,
today we have such an enormous Fa that we certainly dare to open things
up and leave everything up to you—only your heart matters. I said that
I’ve opened a huge door. In fact, you don’t know that there is no door
at all. It’s completely open—only your heart matters!

Let’s say you’ve come from various dimensions and paradises to obtain
the Fa. Your human minds have no idea. If you want to return to your paradises,
think about it: Can you do it with the methods or religions from the past?
Absolutely not. By contrast, our Fa today can save all beings and return
them to their original places, because this is the Great Fa of the cosmos.
This being the case, a requirement follows that the way this Fa is to be
disseminated in the secular world must be extremely upright. So I’ve told
everyone that we have taken the most upright path. We ask people to let
go of self-interest, feelings, and concern for renown. Starting with me,
we all discard these things. That’s not all. We also hold that as you disseminate
the Fa in the society of everyday people, you should conform to and not
violate the ways of everyday people’s society.

While disseminating the Fa, we have hardly advertised through ads, television,
and newspapers or lavishly touted ourselves. No, we haven’t done that.
All of the news reports published back when I was giving lectures on the
Fa had nothing else but this gist: Li Hongzhi is here. There have been
an extremely small number of students who’ve publicized Dafa. Yet those
activities were their own personal acts; they were doing good deeds for
the Fa as individuals. If our Dafa were to employ any type of promotional
media to advertise itself, it would be tarnishing itself. That’s why we
haven’t taken that course. Suppose you were a practitioner and also a reporter
or editor of a newspaper: If you wanted to promote the Fa, it would be
a personal act—our Fa doesn’t require it. A personal act or a personal
desire to do those things is a personal inclination. Wishing to do good
deeds as individuals has no connection with our Fa as a whole.

Why are there so many people studying the Fa? You all know that our
Fa is good. Since It is the Fa of the cosmos, who could say that It isn’t
good? Even the most wicked individuals oppose It outwardly but admire It
inwardly. Why do they oppose It outwardly? They know that if everyone conducted
him or herself according to the Fa, it would really be their turn to be
eliminated. So what you do to disseminate the Fa is your personal act.
Dafa Itself doesn’t have a formality of any kind. We’ve taken a true “great
way without form.”

All of you are regular members of society when you go home. We only
value your hearts—we don’t have any dogma or mandatory stipulations of
any form. Indeed, no one in the past dared to take this path. Regardless
of the religion, if you were to tell people to go home and cultivate without
engaging in religious rituals or intention-filled activities, that religion
would dissolve. They absolutely would not dare to do it this way since
their Fa wasn’t mighty enough. We, on the other hand, do dare to do it
this way. When you go home, all of you will do your jobs and your lives
will be unchanged. Yet all of you will keep the Fa in your hearts, cultivate
yourselves and truly improve yourselves. I’ve said before that Buddhas
and Gods neither pay attention to nor acknowledge the religions of
ordinary humans—they only value people’s hearts. Why didn’t Buddhas intervene
when religions were sabotaged? Why didn’t Christ step in when a church
was ravaged? It’s because those things were humans’ doings. Humans wanted
to do something good and so built temples or churches to provide means
for people to worship a Buddha or Christ. Those were formalities adopted
by human beings. Gods and Buddhas, on the other hand, only value the human
heart. So we don’t engage in any formalities.

Of course, as I’ve also said before, there are even more reasons why
we shouldn’t get involved in politics. We absolutely must not get involved
in politics. Human society’s development, a country’s condition, and the
relationships among human beings are all determined by social evolution.
Ordinary humans can’t obstruct it at will. All humans can do is rack their
brains to try to get ahead, study intensively to achieve something, or
have other aspirations; however, without cosmic changes, ordinary humans
can’t change a thing. Humankind’s development is on a predestined path,
and each step it takes forward in its development will not go astray. So
a cultivator transcends an ordinary human. Why should he concern himself
with human affairs? Politicians in certain religions engage in politics
for the sake of independence, territory, or even some so-called “status.”
Some are even killing people or engaging in terrorist activities—this is
evil. I say that they are not cultivators. A cultivator doesn’t intervene
in the politics of everyday people. Those people are merely politicians.
What a Buddha or God wants is a heavenly paradise. Why fight for human
territory? Do you think those people are cultivators? Do they meet the
criteria? Yet human beings still regard and revere them as divine. In fact,
some of them aren’t even decent people; they will go to hell.

Question: Is the material environment of human society that has existed
over thousands of years one of the factors that has brought about thought-karma?

Teacher: Yes, of course. You wouldn’t produce any karma were
it not for this material environment. Without the current environment of
humans, you wouldn’t be able to carry out either good or bad deeds. Without
this environment, you couldn’t be a human being—this is for sure. Yet at
the same time human society has its own particular characteristics, so
it has to exist.

Question: Is the demonic nature of American society the major obstacle
preventing Americans from obtaining the Fa?

Teacher: You can’t put it that way. When I visited the countryside
and some small towns in the United States, I saw many kindhearted people
and kindhearted Caucasians. All large cities in the world are fairly chaotic;
good and bad people are mixed together, and it’s hard to discern the good
ones from the bad ones. Usually there are exceptionally good ones as well
as exceptionally bad ones, owing to the principle of mutual-generation
and mutual-inhibition. So you shouldn’t make simplistic generalizations.
The U.S. has its own characteristics. It has played a major role for the
entire world in the development of the modern style of distorted human
thinking, which involves every area and field, such as the arts, culture,
and human values. This modern style is perverted culture—it’s not human
culture. This is certain. I think that American culture prior to the 1950’s
was human culture. People were fairly kind. Western men carried a gentlemanly
manner and acted in a very civilized way, while women behaved the way women
ought to. I think that was quite good. Nowadays men and women seem to have
the same personality. Of course, I’m not saying that the U.S. is no good.

As I said earlier, I’m just talking about the changes in humankind.
Nowadays, Asian people are also quite terrible. Everyone is hurting one
another and has bad intentions. People have no idea that when two persons
meet, they have already started hurting each other without having said
much. This is because over the course of a long cultural history, life
after life, you never know who owes what to whom. Since it’s been an extremely
long time over which grievances and gratitude have built up, when people
meet, they each want to have the past repaid and so they harm each other
cruelly. Haven’t you said that the Chinese people in America don’t get
along? All of you look at the surface, whereas I see the real causes. This
is the cause.

Question: I have been affected by demon nature. It’s moving wildly
around or inside my body. People around me have also turned black, yellow,
green or pale faced, like demons...

Teacher: Let me tell you this: While some people claim that they’re
cultivating Dafa or you might claim that you’re a Dafa disciple, I have
to see if you’re a true Dafa disciple—your lip service won’t do. My disciples
have to genuinely practice cultivation and, when encountering troubles,
search for their attachments by asking the question: Was it caused by any
problem that’s in my mind? After reading the book only once, some people
claim that they’re cultivating Dafa and that they have encountered this
problem and that problem. Their minds are full of human matters. They fight
with others when running into problems, and, during instances of friction,
find fault with others rather than with themselves. They claim that they’re
my disciples, but I don’t acknowledge that. These are undoubtedly two different
things. Of course, I’m not referring to this question or this person.

What I’m saying is that any problem can be resolved if you search inside
yourself for inadequacies. You might find that a person used to learn a
lot of messy stuff and his body was surrounded by disorderly messages.
He often saw terrifying images or his body had horrible reactions. He came
to learn our Dafa for these reasons, as he knew about the tremendous power
of our Dafa. But I’m telling everyone that this is called purposefully
coming to obtain the Fa with the attachment of pursuit. This doesn’t work
and nothing will be attained. Yet we don’t object if you have such an attachment
at the beginning, when you have yet to comprehend the Fa. But upon studying
the Fa, you need to part with these types of attachments. Then any situation
can be resolved. I think I’ve made my point clear to everyone. This matter
is spelled out well in Zhuan Falun. You have to read the book and study
the Fa more. Reading the book can solve all of your problems.

Question: I’ve always felt that I’m kindhearted, but why can’t I
achieve the benevolence described by Teacher?

Teacher: This is a good question. In fact, the question itself
is an attachment. I don’t mean that writing this question is an attachment.
Rather, you are attached to your benevolence, which can’t come as you wish.
As your level is being raised, the part of your emotions that has been
removed won’t become vacuous—it will be replaced by benevolence, which
grows gradually. Among you disciples of mine sitting here, many have indeed
cultivated to very high levels, but why don’t you have the benevolence
of levels that high? As a matter of fact, the benevolence of gods is entirely
different from the benevolence imagined by modern people. I’ve talked to
you about this matter many times before. In order for you to live in the
society of everyday people, you aren’t allowed to appear too unusual on
the surface. Should you demonstrate so much benevolence, you really wouldn’t
be able to live among everyday people any longer. For this reason, your
benevolence and everything else that you’ve attained through practicing
cultivation are developing at a high speed in the most microscopic levels
of your existence, and they are separated from your surface layer.

Human lives are made up of particles formed sequentially from microscopic
particles to molecules that are at the surface of the largest particles;
molecules, in turn, form cells. As you continue cultivating, the molecules
inside your body (I can only describe it in this fashion since human language
is limited) and the microscopic particles of your life are all transforming
drastically to conform to the criteria of the Fa. Then, as you finish cultivating
a piece of yourself, it is the same as its being moved over. As you finish
cultivating another piece, it will be moved over as well—even your benevolence
is moved over. It’s like a warehouse that’s storing on your behalf everything
that you’ve attained through practicing cultivation. It would be impossible
for you to practice cultivation if your body were to change too quickly
on the surface. You would want to weep over everything you saw. Whatever
you would do, it would be just as though the part of you that had been
fully cultivated were doing it along with you—that would be equivalent
to having a god do human things. Even when you would do bad things, it
would be equivalent to their being done by a god. You would drop down as
a result. In order to prevent you from descending and, at the same time,
to enable you to maintain your practice of cultivation among everyday people,
the part of you that has been fully cultivated is immediately separated
from the part that’s not yet fully cultivated by you and still composed
of coarse particles. It’s forever kept like a god sitting still over there
in the lotus position, whereas the part of you that hasn’t yet been fully
cultivated will always live among everyday people like a human being. As
you continue your cultivation from the inside toward the outside, you are
gradually consummating yourself. When the molecules at the most superficial
level have been consummated and assimilated, the last step is the final
Consummation. This is the course we’ve chosen to take.

Some students have asked, “Teacher, I’ve been cultivating like this,
but how come I don’t feel much improvement, and why is it that improper
thoughts are still reflected in my mind sometimes?” I’m telling you not
to be anxious. You would really be unable to cultivate if all human substances
were removed from the surface. If you didn’t have human thoughts, you would
be able to perceive all thoughts that humans emanate. Every single word,
act, and thought of a modern person is selfish, and there are even some
deep, indecent thoughts which you couldn’t bear. How would you be able
to live among them? How would you be able to associate with them? So it
can’t be done like that. For instance, if you’ve fully cultivated one hundred
portions in your body, only one portion can be removed from your surface,
so you will always feel that the improvement on the surface isn’t that
rapid. This is normal. Having heard what I just said, you shouldn’t think:
“Oh, so that’s how it works. Then I won’t be worried and I’ll just do what
I want to do.” I’m talking about principles of the Fa. If you don’t hold
yourself to strict demands or if you fail to act in accordance with the
criteria, it can’t be said that you’re cultivating. This is the relationship.

Question: The moment I become inattentive, I’m revealed for what
I am.

Teacher: Don’t put yourself down too much. Actually, you are
a cultivator. You can see your deficiencies, you’ve already risen above
your thoughts at that moment, and you have already surpassed your old self.
An ordinary person can’t see his inadequacies. He thinks everything about
him is good, as if he were a flower, right? Since you can cultivate yourself,
examine yourself, and see your inadequacies, aren’t you a cultivator?

Question: I’ve made two major mistakes, and I was very regretful
afterwards. Was it my Assistant Consciousness (fu yishi14) or
my messages that were at work?

Teacher: If you’ve done something among everyday people, or if
you’ve done something bad, you can’t say that it wasn’t you who did it.
Neither can you separate whether it was the Main Consciousness (zhu yishi15)
or the Assistant Consciousness that did it, because you are one coherent
body. What’s more, you can’t say that all of these things were done by
your thought-karma, because they were also caused by your weak Main Consciousness.
That karma will disrupt you until you get rid of it. When that karma isn’t
eliminated, its external behaviors should all be considered yours. If you
strongly repel it, or if you can distinguish it and keep your Main Consciousness
strong, it will be a different case. So you have to take the blame if you
don’t fend off what the karma does. Cultivation is about eliminating these
bad things and, at the same time, strengthening the Main Consciousness.
When practicing cultivation, it’s best not to think about things that occurred
in the past. They have already happened, no matter how bad they were. Do
well in the future so that you won’t develop an attachment.

Question: We made video recordings of several Fa-conferences in the
United States, and we haven’t given them to relatives abroad. Is doing
this against Teacher’s will?

Teacher: I can tell you that the approach to cultivation that
our Dafa takes is the best and the purest. I’m being truly responsible
to you in order to ensure that you’re truly able to reach Consummation.
I have to clear away from our Dafa all those things that don’t belong to
our cultivation in Dafa. Even if it’s something I said, something I said
to disciples in certain regions or countries, or something that’s not suitable
for other regions, it should also be cleared away. Words said to only one
region that don’t have a universal application should be cleared away as
well. The intention is to truly enable you to practice cultivation without
any disruption—that’s the purpose.

Some people have asked, “Wouldn’t it be beneficial for students’ progress
if, for the time being, we play for them Master’s talk today after we return?”
If you’ve recorded it, then let it be, but don’t spread it in society with
the attachment of zealotry or excitement. It’s all right if after you go
back you show it at your practice sites or to the students in your countries.
But I’d say that you, as a disciple, don’t need me to tell you in detail
about how to handle this. When everyone has watched it or when books of
the lecture are printed, just erase it—that’s all. If someone carelessly
records them for other people, plays them, spreads them, or wantonly has
publishing houses or factories mass-produce them, he would be committing
the worst deed. I’d say that this person doesn’t meet the criteria for
being a Dafa disciple.

Question: I wasn’t diligent in my practice of cultivation and failed
to pass the test of sexual desire several times. If I mend my ways now,
will you still take me?

Teacher: Let me tell you this: Don’t think that you cannot cultivate
anymore because you couldn’t pass a test once or twice. Actually, this
is how you practice cultivation. Some people who are cultivating well have
passed the test; some people who aren’t doing as well have not passed the
test well enough, or haven’t even passed the test at all; however, this
person can pass tests in other regards. Struggling through it in this manner
and passing tests adequately or not—this is how cultivation practice is.
If everyone could pass every test, you wouldn’t need to practice cultivation
and would become a Buddha at once. Isn’t this true? But you should take
it seriously when over and over again you fail to pass a test. Would you
still be considered practicing cultivation if you let this go on for long?

Question: Before I studied Zhuan Falun, treating illness with qigong
was my profession. After studying Falun Gong, I left this profession. May
I learn Chinese medicine and acupuncture now and practice them as an occupation?

Teacher: That’s definitely not a problem. Chinese medicine is
a form of medical treatment in human society. It’s a human thing and doesn’t
conflict with cultivation practice. As to treating illness with qigong,
I tell you to be sure not to do that. I think that if you can learn Chinese
medicine and acupuncture, that’s not a problem—you can learn it and do
it.

Question: We have a small number of students here, and we live in
dispersed areas. We don’t have the kind of great environment for learning
the Fa as in China. How can we create better environments?

Teacher: Do you know that in the old days when I went to Beijing
to teach the Fa, there were only over two hundred people at the first seminar?
Yet now there are 100 million people. All of you have an obligation to
tell other people about the Fa. Won’t there be more people in the future?
One’s environment is created by oneself. It’s indeed very good to have
more people practice cultivation together. People can exchange views, learn
from one another, help one another improve, and talk about things that
have happened in practicing cultivation. This will heighten one’s confidence
in cultivation practice. At the same time, there is a very strong energy
field when the exercises are done in a group, and this definitely benefits
practitioners—that’s for sure. If a person practices cultivation by himself,
he may forget it when he gets busy or do the exercises irregularly at earlier
or later times. Anyhow, he is undoubtedly more sluggish.

Question: Why is it that the people I see in other dimensions all
appear to be Westerners—some are even angels with wings—while I’ve never
seen Asians?

Teacher: If you’ve seen that, then let it be. If I spell it out
for you clearly, I’m afraid that you might develop a new attachment or
a misunderstanding. Our students may seem to be Chinese today, or you may
seem to be Swedish or another type of Caucasian, but you may be of a different
race. The cosmos is extremely enormous. Perhaps after you succeed in cultivation
you’ll go to the heaven of gods who look like Westerners. This might be
the case. I’m not saying that this must be the case—don’t develop an attachment.
You shouldn’t become elated and confused and stop practicing things in
the Buddha School from now on. If you don’t practice the system that I’m
teaching you today, you won’t be able to get to that place. If you say,
“What Master is teaching us belongs to the Buddha School, so I’ll go pray
in a Catholic church tomorrow,” you won’t be able to return there. I’ve
said that my teachings are based in the Buddha School, but what I’m expounding
is the Fa of the cosmos. Which school wouldn’t be included within the scope
of the cosmos’ Fa? So this is the reason. I’ve been more and more explicit
in teaching the Fa. This might not be very helpful for your cultivation
practice. You have to cultivate and be enlightened to these things on your
own.

Question: I tried to persuade a relative to stop practicing a certain
qigong. I didn’t control myself well in my dream one night when I received
guanding16 from him. Many bad things were poured in. I
felt a headache after I woke up, and have often had headaches since then.
What should I do?

Teacher: You didn’t control yourself well. That is, you didn’t
object when he was going to do guanding to you—no objection meant you wanted
it. You agreed to his guanding due to a moment of weakness. You must remember
this lesson and control yourself next time. Don’t worry, this is a test.
Your feeling of a headache is fake; it’s teaching you to improve your enlightenment
quality. Undergoing tests in dreams isn’t part of your cultivation practice.
It’s trying you under that state to see if your cultivation is solid—that’s
what it is. If you can control yourself very decisively even in dreams,
that means your cultivation at this level and on this matter is solid.
But this only applies to your situation at this one time. Many dreams might
not be dreams. If a demon truly comes, it will be a different situation.

Question: Master, you once said that this world of ours is filthy.
You also said that things from here are precious to that other side. How
can this be explained?

Teacher: If you take something intact from this world to that
world, nobody would want it. It would be considered the filthiest thing,
even filthier than feces—that’s the truth. Yet substances in this world
are precious after they assimilate to that realm through a process of transformation;
that’s the relationship. In other words, some substances have gone from
here, but substances that are here have dropped from above. It’s just this
kind of relationship. Heavenly secrets are all revealed.

Question: When someone practices cultivation to the point that his
Immortal Infant comes forth, his Third Eye (tianmu17) can see
the Immortal Infant. What’s the criterion for reaching the middle level?

Teacher: In the past, practitioners of certain cultivation methods
in the secular world could see it. For example, it used to be that in the
Dao School, when the Immortal Infant (yuanying8) grew up to
be the size of a seven or eight-year-old child, the person’s Primordial
Spirit (yuanshen18) would go in to control it and the Immortal
Infant would jump out of the body. This was called the Immortal Infant
Taking Birth. It was too excited to hold back—after all, it was a Buddha-Body—and
it wanted to come out to move around and play. If you see the Immortal
Infant in your body and it doesn’t come out, it’s not called the Immortal
Infant Taking Birth. But our way of practice doesn’t allow it to come out,
or at least not during the present period. As I just said, this is the
only dimension that’s still not yet taken care of, and it’s very filthy
and dangerous here. When dimensions at upper levels were dealt with, many
beings actually came into this dimension—even bad things from very high
levels came. Some people you see walking on the streets are not, in fact,
humans. If you have the ability, take a look at this world and you’ll see
that there are many alien beings. Yet they look like human beings and you
can’t tell the difference. All these need to be dealt with.

What’s the criterion for reaching the middle level? Can you know which
level you’ll be able to cultivate to? Where is your middle level? To ensure
that you can practice cultivation, this is how you’re now taught to cultivate.
So you have no way of knowing, and you’re not allowed to know. Once you
know it you will develop the attachment of complacency or other attachments—you
have no idea what you might do. Some people in the past who cultivated
like that were ruined. Suddenly, one day, a person saw himself with a Buddha’s
appearance, so he went out to become a qigong master. He told himself,
“I’m a Buddha.” Then he went off to act on those things. He refused to
obey anyone, even his master. You may say that you won’t be tempted, but
that is the current state you are in. Once you leave this environment and
see something, won’t you be swayed? So in order to ensure that everyone
can advance faster, some people aren’t allowed to see. Nevertheless, many
people are allowed to see; everyone’s situation is different. We also have
a lot of disciples who are on the verge of reaching Consummation. Actually,
they’ve already reached it. It’s just that they aren’t yet allowed to make
a move. But they seem to know many things. Some people are talking to me,
and they see me and want to communicate with me. This phenomenon didn’t
take place before, as it would have been impossible for it to happen. It
demonstrates that our students are improving rapidly in their cultivation.

Question: I’ve seen some disciples who put on airs as if they were
better than everyone else, and I just want to distance myself from them.
Is this a normal phenomenon or does it mean that I’m not doing well in
my practice of cultivation?

Teacher: This can only be said to be a normal phenomenon. Some
people do have these attachments. Some of our students can’t bear it when
they sense attachments brought out by certain people’s thinking—especially
new students’, as their thoughts are displayed more. This isn’t to say
that these students aren’t cultivating well. It’s because their attachments
that haven’t yet been removed are revealed. This is how practicing cultivation
is. You can’t say that someone is not good when you see an attachment in
him. Neither can you say that he has cultivated to a high level when you
see him do something well. A person can only be judged comprehensively.

Question: Master, in the scripture “Expounding on the Fa” you wrote
that “Having humanly fostered the evil demons, …” What are these “evil
demons”?

Teacher: What are demons? They are just demons. There have always
been demons in this universe. The demons you refer to are mainly things
of demon-nature manifest from xinxing or thoughts, which means that there
is still demon nature in people. That is, our students may sometimes function
as demons for each other. Once in a while a person may disrupt others like
a demon. But you can’t say that he’s a demon—you can only say that he has
played this role. Perhaps this person is quite good. He’s still cultivating
himself, only at that time he didn’t do something right and so functioned
as a demon for others. There are also some people who have relatively more
thought-karma. The demons referred to in the scripture “Expounding on the
Fa” are those who do damage to the Fa and harm your practice of cultivation.
It’s not that I can’t protect you from these kinds of demons. I can tell
you that every situation that occurs during the course of cultivation is
related to you, so you have to cultivate.

Question: How should the side that has attained the Fa rectify the
Fa?

Teacher: You’re asking about the scripture “Expounding on the
Fa.” I won’t explain it to you in detail here. No matter how you understand
the scripture “Expounding on the Fa,” you won’t get it wrong; it’s just
that the extent of your understanding is limited. Actually, I didn’t write
it entirely for your human side. Rather, I wrote it for the side of you
that’s been fully cultivated. So to whatever degree you can comprehend
it is all right.

Question: Disciples in Xinjiang long to meet Master.

Teacher: They are asking me to go there. I know your feelings.
Thank you, everyone. People in many regions want me to come. Let’s see
if the right chances come.

Question: I really want to help spread the Fa, but sometimes I’m
afraid that maybe I won’t do it right and will damage Dafa by mistake.
How should I handle this?

Teacher: Talk about your own experiences learning the Fa. Don’t
speak of the Fa as if the words were yours—don’t speak of the Fa with misinterpretation.
Talk about your own experiences. If you’re afraid of doing damage to the
Fa, you can talk about what you’ve experienced and understood in the Fa,
and so on. Then you add the following words: “The meaning of this Fa is
really profound. This is just how I understand it now from where I am in
my cultivation.” Doing it this way won’t damage the Fa. Alternatively,
you can tell the person Teacher’s words and let him comprehend them himself.
None of these methods damages the Fa. If you tell my words to others as
if they were yours, a bad effect will be created unintentionally. Sometimes
a person adds his own notions into the Fa, stating that the meaning for
certain words is this or that. It’s awful when he gives his interpretations.
Isn’t he arbitrarily interpreting the Fa? In fact, the Fa has profound
inner meanings—he can’t interpret it in the least. One can only say this:
“I realize that there’s this meaning in the Fa, and there are still higher
inner meanings.” This will be all right.

Question: We need to practice wuwei19 and not interfere
with ordinary human matters. In the meantime, we have to consider the interests
of others in all situations. How should we balance this relationship?

Teacher: One of the principles in the Fa that I’ve taught is
that everyone must cultivate his own heart and mind, turn himself into
a good person—a better person—and even meet the criteria of high realms.
When problems occur, look for causes within yourself. If you meddle in
social affairs that you catch sight of, you might not handle them correctly
and might make mistakes. That’s why you should do this as little as possible
or not do it at all. Consider this: Why did monks in the past stay away
from the secular world? A monk would even plug his ears with cotton so
that he wouldn’t hear the whole day, as he didn’t want to listen to anything.
He gagged himself to refrain from speaking. He found that, through hearing,
bad things would get in. It seemed to him that everything would bring about
karma.

Do you know what a wicked person is? Why is a wicked person wicked?
It’s because that person’s mind is filled with too many bad things. He
has learned too many bad things, and his mind is full of wicked thoughts.
He’s a wicked person, regardless of whether or not it’s apparent. So where
did these bad things come from? Didn’t they come from what he heard? [That
monk would feel:] “I don’t want anything, I don’t listen to bad things,
I ignore what I see, and I don’t listen to anything.” What is a good person?
You’re a good person if your mind is full of good thoughts. If there are
only good thoughts in your mind, what you do will meet the criteria. All
behaviors are directed by one’s brain, so what you do will certainly be
good things. If you, a cultivator, always like to meddle in ordinary human
matters, you will make mistakes because you can’t see the predestined arrangements.
If it’s your job, of course you can’t ignore it. In everyday people’s society,
if you see someone kick or curse at someone else or if you see people fight
with each other due to a conflict and you step in to defend someone against
an injustice, then you shouldn’t have meddled in those things. Why is it?
There are policemen and people in positions of authority. Your having a
hand in the matter equates to intervening. Besides, what you do might not
be correct. If one person in his past life owed the other person a kick,
he just paid it back in this life. He won’t be able to pay if you intervene.
From the viewpoint of an everyday person, you’ve done a good thing. To
the god who arranged this incident to settle the karmic debt, however,
you’ve done a bad thing, because a cultivator can no longer be measured
by the standards of everyday people. This is to illustrate the point that
you shouldn’t perform these purposeful actions.

How should you keep the interests of others in mind in all situations?
Since I’ve said that your practice of cultivation should maximally accord
with everyday people’s society, you have to maintain contact with people.
So there will be matters that involve self-interest. I’d say it’s no good
if you’re still really selfish, thinking of yourself first in situations
and not considering others. After all, you still need to maintain contact
with people in society. If at work you just sit there, cold and detached,
doing nothing, I think your boss will fire you. You still have to observe
the way of life in human society. You have to maintain contact with people,
be kind to people, and consider others before doing things. In today’s
society, some businessmen just want to take all the money from other people’s
pockets so that they can get rich instantly. In regards to this point,
I think Caucasian European businessmen have a very good state of mind.
A Caucasian businessman considers his business a profession and a duty,
and he does it whole-heartedly to the best of his ability. He doesn’t mind
even if there’s only one customer a day. He thinks that it’s his job, it’s
part of life, he’s doing something, and it’s fine as long as he can support
himself or his family and save a little. This is the state of being human.
Nowadays, people’s desire to get rich quick is terribly strong. This is
the mindset that guides them. People are simply hurting one another, as
if they want to get all of everyone else’s money to put in their own pockets.
What are other people going to do? Why don’t they think about other people’s
hardships? They do things without considering others at all. This is the
mentality of the perverted humankind in people’s society today. When acting
on something, think about whether others can bear it—this is how a human
being should be.

Question: Would you please tell us again about the meaning of the
article "Take the Middle Way”?

Teacher: All students ought to know that you shouldn’t understand
the Fa with human emotions and thinking. Simply put, that’s the point.
For example, someone interviewed me today. He asked me, “So how about telling
us what the interior and exterior of the universe are like?” I said to
him, “The concept you mentioned comes from a human mindset. In this universe
there isn’t the kind of interior and exterior as you suggested—there’s
no such concept. What you said was of the thoughts and mindset of a human
being.” What I’m trying to tell you is that you need to transform your
human mindset as well. That is, in your daily life or understanding of
the Fa, you really can no longer approach it with a human mindset, and
you must not understand the Fa with those human substances that you firmly
hold on to and don’t discard. The surface meaning of “Take the Middle Way”
is “don’t go to extremes.”

Question: Teacher, you said that the mighty virtue of great Buddhas
in heavens were all cultivated by them, themselves. But since it’s hard
to practice cultivation in Buddhas’ heavens, does it mean that all of them
need to return to this human world to practice cultivation?

Teacher: There are two sources of the beings in the cosmos:
One is born of parents, and the other results from the motion of matter
in the cosmos. The realm of awareness of a being created at a certain realm
is just as high as that realm. That being isn’t contaminated by anything
at lower levels and doesn’t have to meet any criteria for lower levels.
It conforms to the criteria of that realm the moment it is brought into
being. Doesn’t it have to live in that realm? Then there are others who
reach there through cultivation. Here I’m putting emphasis on practicing
cultivation since you are cultivators. Actually, the proportion that reaches
up there through cultivation amounts to an extremely small number in the
cosmos. Most beings originate in their realms.

Question: I’m very touched by many students’ enthusiasm in spreading
the Fa, but I am often apathetic myself. What should I do to change this
state of mind?

Teacher: I don’t have any requirement regarding this. I haven’t
said that our students have to go spread the Fa or pass the Fa on to others.
If someone doesn’t have that enthusiasm or if he or she doesn’t want to
disseminate the Fa after obtaining it, that’s fine. You aren’t obligated
to do it and are not considered wrong. Yet we say that you, as a student,
should tell others about the Fa when you see them suffering, because you
have mercy. Any amount of money or any kind of help you give them won’t
be as good as informing them about the Fa, which is the best thing to do.

Question: When we’re not doing the exercises to the music, does the
speed of our movements affect the results?

Teacher: It won’t be too fast no matter how quickly you do it;
it won’t be too slow no matter how slowly you do it. The speed isn’t fixed.
You are strengthening the mechanisms, so it’s not that it has to be exactly
like mine. But when you do the exercises, the speed should be more or less
the same as the audio tape recording. The movements should be the same
and in good order when you do them in a group.

Question: One’s Immortal Infant stops growing when it becomes the
same size as oneself. Then do children need to wait until they’ve grown
up to practice cultivation?

Teacher: How could human beings be compared with the Immortal
Infant? The Immortal Infant is brought out through practicing cultivation.
Aren’t there many children practicing cultivation?

Question: Other people’s thoughts can often enter my mind. When someone
is sleepy, I want to sleep as well; when he’s angry, I become unhappy.

Teacher: This is a state that occurs in one’s practice. That
is, your pores are all opened and you can sense external messages. It’s
not a supernormal ability. It’s just a state in one’s cultivation process:
When someone suffers from pain somewhere in his body, you feel it as well;
when someone experiences discomfort somewhere, you also become uncomfortable;
when someone is happy, you are happy at the same time. In fact, it’s a
state that occurs when your body is opened up throughout. But it will pass
quickly. The faster you proceed in cultivation, the faster this state will
pass.

Question: I heard that in China there was a student who died not
long after he learned the Fa. He insisted on not taking any medicine before
he passed away. Why would a person die when he didn’t even fear death like
that?

Teacher: When a sick person doesn’t take medicine, you can tell
from the surface whether it’s because deep down inside he wants me to cure
his illness or because he determinedly deems himself a practitioner. If
an everyday person caught a deadly disease and insisted on not taking medicine
no matter what, would he die? He died, didn’t he? It was time for him to
die, so he died, as he was an everyday person. How could an everyday person’s
life be casually extended? He claimed that he did the exercises. Think
about it, everyone: Does it make you a Dafa disciple if you do the exercises
of Falun Gong and read the books? If you don’t advance diligently and don’t
truly act according to the standards I’ve taught you, how could you be
my disciple? Whether you’re my disciple depends on whether I acknowledge
you as one. In other words, are you up to the standard for a disciple?
If you perform the exercises every day just like doing other physical exercises,
if you read the books without assimilating the content, if you don’t advance
diligently and don’t act according to the requirements from the books,
can you be my disciple? Aren’t you still an ordinary person? Let’s say
that an ordinary person becomes ill and, like a drowning person hoping
to clutch a piece of straw, he realizes that I can eliminate a person’s
disease karma. Since with this practice system the understanding is that
no medicine is to be taken when dissolving karma, he has done the exercises
with the misunderstanding that if he just performs the exercises and doesn’t
take medicine he’ll get well and not die. Not only is he an ordinary person,
but he also still holds such a strong attachment. How could he not die?

Dafa is solemn, and cultivation practice is a serious matter. How can
a person’s life that’s supposed to end be casually extended, or an ordinary
human be easily allowed to reach Consummation and become a Buddha?! You
must cultivate your mind. It doesn’t count if your mind is not fundamentally
transformed. You aren’t considered to have passed the test if you seemingly
do well but still have a little bit of attachment inside that you yourself
fail to notice. That’s because this is the most serious matter. Fundamental
changes need to truly take place. You know that many people practice Falun
Gong, and that a considerable number of them have been cured of cancer
or other fatal illnesses. I don’t need to tell you about this because all
of our students know it.

There were also some critically ill people suffering from cancer or
other deadly diseases who came to practice Falun Gong but died just the
same. Why? While that person was paying lip service to practicing Falun
Gong, his mind didn’t let go of his illness whatsoever. Some people may
think this way: “He was quite keen on practicing. He told us about not
taking medicine, and he also advised us to give up the attachment to illness.
He even helped others learn the Fa.” But he didn’t necessarily give it
up himself—you don’t know what was on his mind. This shows how complicated
the matter is. He asked others to give up the attachment, knowing that
Teacher could hear it. He wanted it to be heard by Teacher. To put it plainly,
he was trying to deceive Teacher. His real intention was: “Teacher will
certainly take care of me for all these things I’ve done. I’m reading the
books, performing the exercises, and telling others to cultivate, so Teacher
will definitely eliminate my illness.” You see that on the surface he stopped
taking medicine, said those words, and acted in accordance with my requirements
for practice. In essence, however, he didn’t truly meet the standard for
a cultivator. He was still thinking, “As long as I do this, Master will
surely get rid of my illness.” He was still thinking like that. Did he
root out his desire for Master to get rid of his illness? Wasn’t that desire
still embedded and concealed in his mind? In that case, wasn’t he trying
to deceive others as well as me? In fact, he was deceiving himself. In
that case, how could he be cured of his illness?

Nonetheless, we oftentimes give chances to people who are seriously
ill, and we keep deferring things. The date of the hospital’s death sentence
has long passed. A long time has passed, whether it has been half a year,
a year, or several years. We’re still giving this person chances and waiting
for him to discard that attachment. He simply doesn’t give it up. Although
he doesn’t say anything, his mind is often unsettled by the following thoughts:
“Since I’m practicing Falun Gong, my illness is probably gone. Since I’m
practicing Falun Gong, maybe it will be cured.” He can’t truly regard himself
as a cultivating disciple who doesn’t think about illness whatsoever. I’ve
already said that I have hardly any requirements for you. Everything is
unrestricted—only your mind matters. If I didn’t even look at your mind,
could I still save you? Actually, no matter which cultivation way a person
practices, his mind has to be transformed. The difference is that our cultivation
system aims directly at one’s mind.

Question: The more I study the Fa, the more I realize that the power
of the Fa is boundless, that everything is encompassed within the boundlessness,
and that there is no end to it. Teacher, would you please tell me why that
is?

Teacher: “Everything is encompassed within the boundlessness”—this
is a type of test as well. Once you feel that Consummation is nearing,
you will no longer have this feeling. Your feeling is very good. No matter
how you feel, don’t pay too much attention to it. Sometimes a person can
ascend very rapidly when he or she improves. But upon arriving at the part
of the body that’s within the Three Realms, it becomes incredibly hard
to make one step forward. It’s so difficult that you’re simply unwilling
to part with your human mindset. This is a situation I’ve noticed.

Question: Teacher, you’ve often said that time is pressing. Meanwhile,
you’ve also said that Dafa would spread far and wide among everyday people
for a long time. Is that a contradiction?

Teacher: I’m indeed saying that time is pressing. I’ve said that
I am not merely saving people. After you reach Consummation, I still have
to do other things that I can’t tell you about. I can’t teach the Fa for
very long in the human world. If I say that time is pressing, you should
simply speed up your cultivation. Don’t misinterpret my words or confuse
them with any talk of catastrophes spoken of by the evil religions nowadays.
The time for cultivation is indeed quite pressing. There won’t be a catastrophe,
but there is a deadline for the end of cultivation. Once the whole truth
is revealed, everything will end, and you will no longer be allowed to
cultivate. Yet humankind will continue. Cultivation practice will exist
forever, although it will be in a cultivation form of the future.

Question: Living in everyday people’s society, if a person does things
earnestly, is responsible to his job and family, and isn’t the least bit
negligent, is he considered attached?

Teacher: I can’t say that what you said was wrong, but neither
can I rule out some very strong human elements in your words. That’s because
when you are trying to do these things well in the society of everyday
people, it’s impossible that you carry them out with a Buddha’s way of
thinking. You would be unable to get things done that way. So you still
have a human being’s way of thinking. This is merely a manifestation of
various situations at certain levels.

Question: My American friends complain that the English version of
Zhuan Falun is hard to understand. Could you please tell us the prospect
of Dafa for Americans?

Teacher: Let me tell you, it’s not that the English version is
hard to understand. I’d say that the English versions were translated well—the
one that came out in the U.S. is particularly easy to understand. There
is so much inner meaning in this Dafa. Those Americans who are somewhat
simpleminded consider it hard to comprehend. Some things are indeed hard
to understand for young people who aren’t accustomed to using their minds.
Which one of you sitting here can say that you can easily understand everything
in Zhuan Falun? You all feel that the more you study it, the harder it
gets. You know that Monk Tang20 traveled on foot for eleven
years to acquire the Buddhist scriptures from the Western Paradise. He
went through all kinds of hardships and dangers, and had to do the translation
himself after he returned. Today, Dafa has already been brought to you
right here, but you still find it difficult. If you don’t think that the
translation is good, you too can do translations—do better ones.

In China, we organized some students to translate this book into English.
It took them two years. They were always debating among themselves because
they wanted to translate the meaning for English readers without any bit
of divergence from the original. They overcame great difficulties. You
obtained it ready-made and still find it difficult. If something is really
questionable, you can compare it with the version translated in China.
There is a Russian student in Boston. I was listening to him when he spoke
yesterday. Everyone found that his process of learning Chinese was unusual.
There have been many instances like that. If you put your mind to it, I
think all of you can be like him.

As for the prospect of Dafa for Americans, let me tell you that for
every event, every life, and everything done in this universe, the future
can be seen from beginning to end. Only the future of this undertaking
of mine can’t be seen by anyone. There simply was no future before I set
out to do it. As to what the future will be, if today’s human society continues
to go on like this, people will all become extremely vicious, like demons.
Of course, when people are bad, violent conflicts as well as natural and
man-made calamities increase. People kill and fight among themselves, and
karma billows. What’s the prospect, then? It’s really terrifying. In terms
of cultivation practice, the prospect for Dafa in the U.S. depends on how
well Americans obtain the Fa.

Question: Some Americans think that some parts of Dafa oppose other
relevant qigong practices. This often creates some problems.

Teacher: Let me tell you, such a great Fa has been taught. Just in this
book, there are many, many tests directed at various people to see how
their minds will react. Dafa can’t be obtained casually. For example, the
diversity of cults and the number of bogus qigongs are great these days,
and they lead people astray. Many people who are capable of practicing
cultivation become involved in them like religions, and some of them engage
in suicide—it’s a mess. I said that I’m not simply saving people. If I
didn’t point out these bad things, if I didn’t tell you that they are wicked,
how could you concentrate on your cultivation without any disruption, and
how could I address the critical matter of “no second cultivation way”?
Dafa can’t be casually obtained. Perhaps someone is attached to those things
and so is impeded and doesn’t want to obtain the Fa. If he doesn’t want
to obtain the Fa, then let him be, because if he doesn’t discard the attachment
and doesn’t practice only one way, he won’t be able to reach Consummation
and will do damage to Dafa. It’s his personal emotions that prevent him
from obtaining the Fa. Dafa is solemn. Not everyone can obtain the Fa.
We can spread the Fa widely and have all those people who are predestined
or are still able to obtain the Fa obtain it. But there are indeed a number
of people who simply can’t obtain the Fa. They’re no longer allowed to
see it, so they are probably impeded. If a person isn’t impeded, he or
she is most likely still predestined to obtain the Fa.

Question: The hand signs are different in several pictures of Teacher
that have been officially published. Could you please tell us their meanings?

Teacher: Other than this picture hung up here at the conference,
no picture with hand signs has been published. Hand signs are very complicated.
They’re just like all these words with which I’m teaching you the Fa today.
Hand signs in motion are a language. A series of them gestured is a passage
of Fa taught. If it were something I could tell you with words, I wouldn’t
make hand signs for you today. The reason is that such content can’t be
spoken. You think that what I’ve said today is lofty; you must have thought
so. You have no idea how much loftier the hand signs are than this—they
show the truth. If you can understand them, that’s fine; if not, it’s also
all right.

Question: I think it was arranged for us to come to a Western society
so that we could disseminate the Fa, and that we will return to the East
at the appropriate time. Is that right?

Teacher: If you’re asking me why you immigrated to the West,
I can’t tell you. You can go wherever you want to nowadays. If you’re saying
that you will return to the East when you’ve reached Consummation, what
would you be doing on the earth if you had reached Consummation?

Question: There’s a person who had a transplanted kidney removed
after it failed. He had the opportunity to learn Falun Gong and is diligent
in cultivating his xinxing in his daily life, hoping to be able to reach
Consummation in this lifetime. Does he have a chance?

Teacher: I can tell you that many of you have asked about operations
and whether you can still cultivate without certain parts of your body.
As a matter of fact, an operation is done in this human dimension and it
can’t touch any bit of the bodies in other dimensions. So what’s removed
is only something in this superficial dimension. The essential body(ies)
can’t be touched. In other words, the body(ies) over there is intact. But
you do depend on this body here for practicing cultivation. If you’re truly
able to meet the criteria for practicing cultivation, any miracle can be
done for you. If you can’t meet that criteria, though, nothing can be given
to you. That’s why practicing cultivation is a serious matter.

Question: If someone enlightened to something but didn’t act accordingly,
is that person still considered unenlightened on the matter?

Teacher: If someone enlightened to something but didn’t act well,
he “does what’s wrong while fully aware.” It’s not that he didn’t enlighten
to it. Actually, I was bantering. Let me tell you that many of you know
the principles perfectly well, but when facing a test you still haven’t
been able to let go of the attachment—isn’t that so? Is that right? (Everyone
answers, “Yes!”) What’s the reason? Some people have acted to uphold their
dignity; some people haven’t been able to forgo their emotions, right?
So they have knowingly made the mistakes. Now you’re a cultivator, so you
can’t knowingly do what is wrong all the time. You must pass the test sooner
or later.

Question: Can still water contain Zhen-Shan-Ren?

Teacher: The cosmos is constituted by the essential nature Zhen-Shan-Ren.
Don’t be concerned with its conceptualization. It’s this way in a certain
concept and another way in another concept. Neither interests nor the pursuit
of knowledge should be your motive in practicing cultivation. That won’t
work. You should concentrate on practicing cultivation.

Question: If someone wants to cultivate to a level surpassing that
of Arhat21, does one have to make a wish to offer salvation
to all sentient beings? Is it true that if one doesn’t make this wish one
can only achieve a lower level?

Teacher: I didn’t guide your thinking toward this. I didn’t say
these things. From which religion did you hear this? What wish-making?
Let me tell you that this is all human emotion. Since you’ve mentioned
it, I’ll talk about why believers of Buddhism say this. Isn’t the talk
about making wishes in today’s Buddhism man-made? Aren’t those attachments
of intentional action and pursuit? In Buddhism they talk about making a
wish to offer salvation to all sentient beings. They think that they’ll
be made Buddhas if they make a wish to offer salvation to all sentient
beings. Isn’t that a joke? One can only become a Buddha by truly cultivating
oneself to reach that level, by bearing many hardships, and by attaining
that exalted realm. Believers of Buddhism now want to offer salvation to
all sentient beings. How can they offer salvation to all sentient beings
without having cultivated to a high level? Actually, a lot of believers
of Buddhism are including in that expression many attachments of emotion
and an intention to show off. My words can instantly pierce a person’s
heart. How can human beings understand at a Buddha’s level the meaning
of “offering salvation to all sentient beings”? When people talk about
offering salvation to all sentient beings these days, isn’t it actually
a display of their mentality of showing off and a complicated attachment
that results from wishful thinking? It’s driven by attachments to humans
and feelings, together with a mind for showing-off in the future. Could
a Buddhist during the Dharma-Ending Period be in a realm so noble and holy?
It’s impossible.

In addition, offering salvation to all sentient beings can’t be casually
talked about or done. How could humans know that before Sakyamuni came
down to the world he had to get permission from many Buddhas, Daos, and
Gods, and from still many other Buddhas, Daos, and Gods at even higher
levels? Who would dare to come down if it weren’t for a special mission?
Coming down is just like dropping down. One needs to practice cultivation
in order to return, so who would dare to come down? Besides, one is prohibited
from casually entering the Three Realms. One might think that one wouldn’t
be contaminated by humans. How can someone not be contaminated if he jumps
into a manure pit? He’s surely contaminated, right? So it can’t be casually
done. Originally, these were very holy expressions in religion; they are
words of the Buddha School, spoken by gods and used in practicing cultivation.
Now, everyday people have casually taken them and talked about them carelessly.
Everyday people use them as if they were utterly worthless, and their holy
connotation has already been lost.

Furthermore, an Arhat doesn’t have the intention of offering salvation
to all sentient beings. Why? It’s because an Arhat is a self-enlightened
being—that’s an Arhat. What’s a self-enlightened being? A self-enlightened
being has simply cultivated himself and reached Consummation beyond the
Three Realms. He’s considered to have succeeded and been liberated, so
he simply doesn’t have the desire or aim of saving others. A Bodhisattva22
merely assists a Buddha in his effort to save sentient beings. A Bodhisattva
is said to save people into her paradise, but she doesn’t have a paradise—she’s
in a Buddha’s paradise. Whether or not she can freely save people depends
on the willingness of the Buddha to have them. Isn’t that true? The relationship
is that if the Buddha wants to save people, she’ll help carry out specific
actions.

Question: Is it true that I just need to do my best to let go of
my attachments, but that whether or not they’re discarded is all Master’s
doing?

Teacher: Wouldn’t it be me who is cultivating then? The process
is as such, but it can’t be understood in this way.

Actually, you’ve met the criteria the moment you find that you can identify
the problem and truly recognize those attachments that you shouldn’t have.
Master will naturally remove the substances from the surface for you. This
can’t really be considered Master’s doing since it stems from your own
cultivation.

Question: How should we handle the relationship between grand mercy
and wuwei?

Teacher: In the realm of an Arhat or Bodhisattva, human emotions
are replaced by grand mercy. Human beings live for affection and emotion.
That is, humans are immersed in emotion and it’s hard for them to break
away. A person can’t practice cultivation and progress without freeing
himself from emotion. As to wuwei, it’s required in cultivation practice.
This state also exists for someone who has attained a quite high realm
in the cosmos: He knows everything but doesn’t want to do anything, even
though he is capable of doing everything, as if it were simpler than playing
with toys. Let’s say that you’re a college student and are extremely smart.
If a few very simple wooden blocks were placed here and you were asked
to move them back and forth or play with them, would you want to do it?
You wouldn’t. Everything would be clear at a glance. They’re just a few
wooden blocks, why play with them? You wouldn’t want to make a move. Wuwei
is stressed in the practice of cultivation to prevent you from producing
more karma. You are in the realm of grand mercy if you free yourself of
emotions and attain the standard of wuwei.

Question: I’m a part-time editor for a comprehensive publication.
In order to spread the Fa, we intend to publish Zhuan Falun and other works
of yours. Since space is limited, however, we can only arbitrarily select
certain chapters and sections.

Teacher: That’s not a good idea. For one thing, since your magazine
covers a wide variety of things, placing the Fa there wouldn’t be appropriate.
Besides, making selections that way would actually be quoting out of context.
It would also be hard to understand, and would likely be copied by those
so-called “men of letters” as some human thing. So be sure not to do these
things and be sure not to quote out of context.

Question: Teacher, you said that it’s normal for a veteran student
not to go to the practice sites to do the exercises. Is it a good idea
for Teacher to discourage them from cultivating in that kind of environment?

Teacher: It’s not as simple as you think. Do you know that I
even need to consider these situations of yours while I’m saving you? When
you ask someone who’s in a different realm and state to go, you don’t know
that he feels uneasy. What you say and do is intensely annoying to him.
These cases do exist. If someone isn’t in this situation and simply does
not want to come out, I’d say he needs to mend his approach. It benefits
you if you come out to do the exercises. If you truly don’t have the time
because of work, that’s also understandable, and then it’s up to you.

Of course, in China there are instances where they come out to perform
the exercises in both the morning and evening. They come out at four o’clock
in the morning and six o’clock in the evening after dinner to do the exercises
collectively twice a day. They find that doing the exercises like this
is very good. Yet people in many areas of other countries aren’t doing
the exercises like this, using various excuses. Let me tell you that if
you do as I’ve taught in this practice system, it’s guaranteed that there
won’t be any harm, only benefit. You claim that you’re too busy and don’t
have the time. Actually, you are afraid that you don’t get enough rest.
Have you ever thought of the fact that practicing cultivation is the best
form of rest? You can obtain the kind of rest that can’t be obtained through
sleeping. Nobody would say: “The exercises are making me so tired that
I can’t do anything today.” One would only say: “The exercises are making
my whole body relaxed and at ease. I don’t feel sleepy after a sleepless
night. I feel full of energy. It doesn’t seem to bother me at all after
a day’s work.” Isn’t this the case? So if someone who doesn’t come out
to do the exercises says that he has no time or uses other excuses, I’d
say that it’s completely because he doesn’t have a deep understanding of
the Fa and lacks the will to make painstaking efforts. Of course, it’s
strictly a different situation when a veteran student is in that state.
But it’s not right if someone hasn’t reached that state, yet uses that
excuse to not come out. Practicing cultivation is about cultivating oneself.
Fooling others is, in fact, fooling oneself.

Question: Airplanes have long existed at higher-level dimensions.
People at higher-level dimensions can fly, right? Why do they still need
to use airplanes, then?

Teacher: I’ve told you that in different dimensions it’s not
that all beings are like the Buddhas and Gods everywhere in the heavens—beings
differ quite substantially. There are also places like that of human beings,
but few. Yet there are particularly more places like those of alien beings.
They need to fly and need to use flying devices. I can’t tell you about
all those, leading your thinking toward those places and encouraging curiosity.
Beings are extremely complex. There are worlds of all kinds and there’s
great diversity in the cosmos. Now we only have white, yellow, and black
races of humans on earth; over there, there are also green and blue ones,
and even multi-colored ones. There are diverse ones of every sort, unlike
anything you’ve imagined. In other words, you should stop thinking about
these issues with your human frame of mind.

Question: Falun Gong is loosely administered. How is it different
from a tangible organizational structure?

Teacher: It’s loosely administered and there’s no form of organizational
structure. If you want to come you can come; if you don’t want to come
you can go. We don’t have a membership roster. From the surface, no one
knows who you are. Isn’t this correct? Everyone is learning at his or her
own will. For example, people asked around about where Master had gone,
and then they came to listen to the Fa-lecture, right? It’s not that I
issued mobilization orders so that everyone would come to the U.S. to listen
to the Fa-lecture. There was nothing of the sort. Whether or not a person
practices cultivation is entirely voluntary. Once an administrative form
like that of everyday people is adopted, any human intent can crop up,
and attachments will prevent one from practicing cultivation, thus causing
trouble for the Fa.

Question: What does "no omission” mean as in "No Omission in Buddha-Nature”?

Teacher: “No omission” used to be a term in Buddhism; that is,
it was cultivation language in Buddhism. Consider this, humans have all
kinds of feelings, desires, and various attachments, all caused by their
emotions. They are numerous, such as jealousy, the intention to show off,
hatred, etc. Every one of these attachments has to be eliminated. It’s
still considered an omission if any one of them isn’t removed. One cannot
reach Consummation if there’s an omission. A person needs to cultivate
until there is no omission and no attachments left. He or she will be able
to reach Consummation only when there’s truly no longer anything omitted.

Question: Has the nature Zhen-Shan-Ren changed each time when a new
universe has been re-created by Enlightened Beings at extremely high levels?

Teacher: You shouldn’t ask these types of questions anymore.
You shouldn’t even think about them. The essential nature Zhen-Shan-Ren
remains eternally unchanged. The Fa is unchanged so that changes in the
beings and substances within it can be measured.

Question: Other than helping cultivators to attain a tranquil mind,
does the music of Falun Gong have any other special...?

Teacher: Its major role is to help people reach tranquility as
soon as possible. That’s because when people listen to the music they don’t
think about ordinary human matters like rivalries with other people, messy
situations, how their businesses are doing, or how much money they’re making.
This approach is adopted. The music is used to substitute one thought for
thousands of thoughts. Contents of Dafa are also added into the music.
So the more you listen to it, the more pleasant it is to you and the more
comfortable you become.

Question: Can we listen to Teacher’s Fa-lectures when we perform
the tranquil exercises?

Teacher: How could you attain tranquility while listening to
my Fa-lectures? Your brain cells are very active when listening to the
Fa, aren’t they? So you wouldn’t be able to reach tranquility. Listening
to Fa-lectures should simply be listening to Fa-lectures.

Question: Teacher, you mentioned yesterday that with every additional
practitioner you bear one more share of hardship. I was sad to hear it,
because I’ve led many people to the road of cultivation practice.

Teacher: I knew you’d think about this matter. Let me tell you:
Don’t think like this, as I have my ways. You don’t need to be concerned
with these things—just concentrate on your cultivation. If you guide many
people to learn the Fa, it can be said that your contribution and virtue
are boundless, and you are in effect helping your master spread the Fa.
Your mind is rather active to think of this matter. What I meant was that
with each additional practitioner, I need to be concerned with one more
person. My concerns are not as you imagine them. I have innumerable Law
Bodies (fashen23) who are doing these things.

Question: I find myself flying in the sky during my sitting meditations
and dreams, but I’ve never seen figures from the Buddha School dressed
in yellow. I wonder if I truly saw something.

Teacher: Actually, you did see something. The reason there were
no figures of the Buddha School is that the place you went to was different.
I think that if you see these things, just let it be. Don’t pay too much
attention to it, and put your mind to practicing cultivation. Be sure to
do so.

Question: The gods above no longer regard modern persons as human.
But Teacher, yesterday you said that nobody today is meant to be a human
being.

Teacher: People nowadays are indeed degenerate. Gods don’t look
after them anymore. No religion is being looked after by gods, since gods
see that humankind is too depraved and they no longer regard human beings
as human. Yet where you came from and whether to save you are two separate
matters. But there are things that I don’t want to be known by any beings.
Besides, I didn’t say that my way of doing things is the same as theirs.
There is an even broader meaning to what I’m doing. Human society will
continue to evolve. Those who can succeed in cultivation practice and reach
Consummation will go to heavenly paradises at different levels. Those who
can’t reach Consummation but are able to meet the criteria for the original
humankind will become humans in the next period of civilization.

Question: Teacher, you wrote in the scripture “Verification” that
we should “verify that Dafa is correct and a genuine science...” How do
we verify it?

Teacher: You are educated people. When faced with people who
don’t understand or who aren’t so good, you can verify it by sharing your
experiences, knowledge, or the concrete results from your work, and so
forth.

Question: I’m Polish, and I want to spread the Fa in Poland. When
will we be able to see materials in Polish and how can I help?

Teacher: There are some Chinese people in Poland. Some of them
are studying and doing the exercises, but no Polish translations have been
done. We’ll see if the opportunity comes along since only our disciples
can do the translation. It’s hard for others to translate Dafa books. Just
like you, I long to see Zhuan Falun in Polish soon. Of course, it would
be good if you could translate it.

Question: It’s not easy to introduce the Dafa of Zhuan Falun to others
appropriately. At times, some relatively profound things are unwittingly
spoken, making them unbelievable to people—contrary to what’s intended.

Teacher: That’s right. Everyone needs to take note of this point.
Don’t present it from the perspective of your understanding to people who
haven’t yet learned the Fa—it will intimidate them. What you say unwittingly
is already quite deep, because it reflects your level. In addition, there
are even more profound things that you don’t talk about but that are implied
in your words. Those things can’t be perceived by that person’s mind on
the surface, but they are perceived by his mind deeper within. He can’t
bear it. So when presenting Zhuan Falun to others, we have to talk about
its principles at the lowest and most superficial level, such as how to
be a good person and how to raise one’s level. Discuss simple principles
like these. It’s as if you ask someone to go to school, but talk to him
about concepts at the university level while he hasn’t even gone to elementary
school yet. He would say, “I don’t want to learn it—I don’t understand
it.” Doesn’t this make sense?

Question: If someone is missing a leg and a hand, he can’t sit cross-legged
or perform the movements. How can he cultivate?

Teacher: I’ve said that Dafa cultivation is a serious matter.
I’m teaching the Fa for people to practice cultivation. That is, he can
practice cultivation. It’s his heart that matters. Without a hand and a
leg, you have your heart to cultivate with. Even if you do it with one
leg and one hand, I think miracles will happen. The decisive factor is
one’s heart.

Question: When meditating in ding, if I’m no longer conscious
of this body but feel the existence of light and sound, how should I further
my cultivation?

Teacher: I didn’t tell you about what happens or the kind of
state one enters during tranquility—I haven’t talked about those things.
We stress cultivation of one’s heart and mind, which is fundamental. An
attachment to any kind of state will make you unable to reach a very high
realm, and it will limit you greatly. Wuwei is the great way. The things
that you see or hear are all normal occurrences. Don’t be concerned with
them and don’t get attached to them.

Question: When the Primordial Spirit leaves the body, should I have
no mind-intent and let it fly? Can I have the intention of flying higher
and in a more beautiful posture? Or, can I alter the posture, such as changing
from lying to sitting, or to facing down...?

Teacher: If you can fly, then fly. It doesn’t matter how you fly, whether
it’s lying down or sitting. But don’t regard it as having fun. Some people have
asked me to demonstrate things for them. You would look upon what I demonstrated
for you with a human mindset and only be amused. You wouldn’t be able to see
what is truly the mighty significance of Buddha Fa’s divine power, so it can’t
be used like this. Even if you can do it, you shouldn’t regard it as having
fun.

Question: My Primordial Spirit used to be able to fly high and far
when it left my body. Why is it that recently it suddenly can’t fly high?

Teacher: Perhaps it’s because you’ve developed an attachment.
In cultivation practice, you aren’t allowed to be like that all the time.
It’s not good if it happens so often that it’s affecting your practice
of cultivation. Raising your level in your practice of cultivation is first
and foremost.

Question: I admire your Falun Dafa from the bottom of my heart, but
it’s said that we need to consecrate fruits in front of your picture everyday.

Teacher: Actually, when a god saves people in the human world,
he, too, eats food, but not the kind of food consumed by humans. What does
he eat? You know I’ve said that for every object there exist other bodies.
He eats those other bodies of your food. You are disciples and I’m your
master, so of course I won’t be a stickler for etiquette. When your food
is served and you eat, I’ve already taken it away on that other side. I
haven’t asked you to adhere to any matters of formality. Yet if you have
the desire to do that and really want to do so, I won’t object, because
that’s your wish. As to cases where some of you kowtow to me, I think I’ll
be glad to see you if you don’t kowtow to me but are cultivating well.
If you kowtow to me everyday but fail to cultivate well, I’ll be sad to
see you. Doesn’t this make sense? It’s merely a formality, though it also
shows one’s heart.

Question: When I’m perplexed about a certain problem, I ponder deeply
over it, and at that time an answer comes forth from my imagination, sometimes
even with pictures appearing in my mind. Is this a good or bad thing?

Teacher: This usually happens to you when you’re an everyday
person. It’s a state that often occurs when one thinks about ordinary human
problems. If you still do so in your practice of cultivation and study
of the Fa, I’d say that you’re too attached in [studying] the Fa, to say
the least. When you think about problems at work or in your life, that’s
work, but you also have to separate that from your cultivation practice.
When practicing cultivation you should let go of it and not think about
anything. It’s all right to throw yourself into your work when you’re working.
The appearance of pictures and answers is a manifestation of a supernormal
ability.

Question: If one’s mind is always empty without any thoughts, how
is it different from Zen Buddhism?

Teacher: There’s a substantial difference. No matter how empty
your mind is, it’s not permissible for you to let your consciousness depart.
This is the kind of emptiness we talk about, whereas in Zen Buddhism “emptiness”
means that nothing is left and one is aware of nothing. They aren’t cultivating
themselves; they aren’t practicing cultivation, but only being motionless.
So they’re cultivating someone else, namely, their Assistant Primordial
Spirit (fu yuanshen24).

Question: Master, I don’t quite understand what you said yesterday
about "no one on the earth today should be a human being.”

Teacher: Let me start from this most superficial shell of human
beings. Nowadays, humankind (of course, you aren’t included since you’re
practicing cultivation) is capable of every sort of vice; however, all
of them came for profound reasons. That’s the relationship. Meanwhile,
I’ve found that the true humankind, people who used to be here, are in
another dimension, namely, the netherworld. As they died in wars, they
gradually went down there instead of reincarnating back up. They’ve been
totally replaced by these beings who came for profound reasons. Yet whoever
comes has to be made deluded as humans are, and, without exception, they
become depraved along with people’s society. So that’s the relationship.
Only those who had the heavenly courage to come down can hear the Fa that’s
so mighty and profound. Nevertheless, not everyone came to obtain the Fa:
There are also some that came to damage the Fa. That’s why I said that
none of them came in order to be human beings. Still, not everyone came
to practice cultivation. There are also some who came specifically to damage
the Fa—they will be banished to hell. There are still others, such as those
who are no longer good and can’t obtain the Fa anymore. In addition, there
are also ones who don’t deserve to obtain the Fa anymore.

Question: I’m from Denmark and was lucky to obtain the Fa in California.
Should I go back to Denmark to spread the Fa? I’m afraid that I might be
unable to shoulder the responsibility.

Teacher: You don’t need to worry about these things. When trying
to help a person obtain the Fa, many of you typically say, “this book is
really good.” You tell it to a friend. The friend says: “Really? Let me
check it out.” Inadvertently, he or she is able to engage it in this way.
It’s all rather simple, but not accidental. Of course, there’s one thing.
That is, you can’t say, “I think this is so great, yet how come you don’t
want to learn it?” That person might say, “I just don’t want to learn it.
I don’t have the time,” or, “I don’t think it’s good.” It’s wrong to impose
it on others. Why is it wrong? You are forcing and pressuring that person
to obtain the Fa. There should be no coercion. If someone’s heart isn’t
moved, the Fa must not be given to him—that person’s heart has to be moved
on its own. In other words, he needs to be worthy of the Fa to be shown
the Fa. Isn’t this the truth?

Question: How should we understand: “Just moments prior to reaching
Consummation, eight-tenths of his gong will be taken down together with
his xinxing yardstick”?

Teacher: I’ve explained this principle. The purpose of taking
down your gong is to enable you to reach Consummation. What does reaching
Consummation mean? That’s when you’ve reached the criteria through cultivation,
and your gong along with all of your blessings and virtue are consummated.
A Buddha can have any thing or any ability he desires. Where does this
capacity come from? It comes from the painstaking effort that you put in.
That is, it’s composed of and consummated by your mighty virtue—gong, which
co-exists with xinxing. Without it, you can’t go to heaven. You know that
there’s a circle around a Buddha’s body. The Buddhas painted in portraits
in ancient temples all seem to sit in a moon. The fact is, it’s nothing
but the Buddha’s own paradise. This paradise needs to be substantiated,
or you would have nothing but gong. How could you be called a Buddha, then?
If you wanted to save people and do good things, you would be missing that
paradise which you need to have. You need to have your own paradise before
you can have whatever you want.

Question: Without Dafa experience sharing conferences like this one
today, I don’t think I could possibly raise my xinxing. Is this normal?

Teacher: Experience sharing conferences can in fact be really
beneficial for our students’ advancement and progress, and at the same
time they can introduce the Fa to others. It’s a very good format, and
I think it should be done like this. It can indeed enable those who are
sluggish in their cultivation to find where they fall short, and so be
compelled to catch up. It would be wrong to say that a person couldn’t
obtain the Fa without this conference. The Fa is here for everyone to learn.
Fa-conferences can serve the purpose of introducing the Fa to others and
accelerating your advancement. There are some people who do obtain the
Fa through the conferences.

Question: Teacher, you said that during the current period, gods
in different levels of dimensions are also learning this Fa. Are the scriptures
studied by high beings at those levels the same as the scriptures we see?

Teacher: They are absolutely different—there are different Fa
for different levels. Black ink on white paper is for humans to read. The
words and meaning of the same Fa are different at different levels.

Teacher: Not all demons exist in hell—there are different demons
at different levels. Some exist due to the principle of mutual-generation
and mutual-inhibition; some come as a result of people’s enormous karma;
still others are old and degenerate forces that come to make trouble for
the Fa.

Question: Last year I was baptized, but now I realize that Falun
Dafa is the true Great Way. I’m determined to cultivate in Falun Dafa.
Is there a conflict?

Teacher: There’s no conflict. Baptism is a human act and it is
superficial—it’s not an act of gods. I said that what gods acknowledge
is a person’s heart, not some kind of human formality.

Question: You said that the universe goes through formation, preservation,
and degeneration. Why is there degeneration?

Teacher: You all know why food turns putrid, people get old,
iron rusts, and even rocks are subject to weathering—that’s the idea. It’s
just that it takes a longer time. The timing difference and the very lengthy
duration are inconceivable to humans, as if it lasts forever and never
degenerates.

Question: For the last couple of months, I haven’t been able to break
away from the disturbance of demons that speak to me in foul languages.
I’m disturbed by bad messages in my dreams and in my daily life.

Teacher: Read the book more and any problem can be resolved.
I just told you to read the book more, but actually, you might not necessarily
understand the inner meaning of what I just said. This book is almighty,
omnipotent. While you make your Main Consciousness more determined, the
karma in your thoughts is taken away. In most cases, this situation occurs
because of relatively severe thought-karma, but you should really pay attention
to solidifying your Main Consciousness!

Question: I have no problem with reading the books and doing the
exercises on my own. But when I go to the practice site, I feel as though
we’re doing political studies [when we read the book together].

Teacher: Perhaps you loathe political studies, and so this is
caused by your strong sense of aversion? The formality is unimportant—what’s
important is the essence. Isn’t that a strong attachment, an attachment
of aversion?

Question: Is the brief introduction to Falun Dafa that’s been printed
in publications regarded as quoting out of context?

Teacher: A brief introduction isn’t extracted from my Fa. It’s
a “brief introduction,” so it’s not quoting out of context. It introduces
the general outline of my Fa. They did this, but they were discreet every
time. They only did it after repeated deliberations.

Question: How should we understand loneliness as being the most dangerous
adversary in cultivation practice?

Teacher: You have no idea that loneliness can ruin everything
for a person. In the past, what did monks depend on in their practice of
cultivation? Why were they able to succeed in cultivation? Their greatest
hardship was loneliness. What hardship did they have to endure? It was
the hard-to-endure loneliness. Why could a person who went up to a mountain
to practice the Dao succeed in attaining the Dao? Worldly people were enjoying
glory, splendor, wealth, and rank. Even poor people, who weren’t enjoying
glory, splendor, wealth, and rank, also had kith and kin, and enjoyed earthly
pleasures. The monks cultivated hard in the mountains by themselves. Without
any contact with other people, that loneliness, which is hard to endure,
can wear away a person’s many attachments and various desires. Of course,
we’re not taking this path. We aim directly at one’s heart—it’s the fastest
way. I don’t think there is time for you to [have your attachments] worn
down over several decades.

Question: Mental patients aren’t allowed in the seminars. But are
patients with delusions of grandeur, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic
disorder, and so forth, regarded as mental patients?

Teacher: Actually, let me tell you that “mental disorder” as
understood by humans is different from my interpretation. What I refer
to as mental disorder is that a person’s Main Primordial Spirit (zhu yuanshen26)
doesn’t control his body, and any foreign messages, other beings, or his
karma can command him to do this or that. The karma in his brain makes
him curse and do bad things, so people say that he’s mentally ill. I’ve
found that mental patients have no injuries or pathogens at all. How can
it be called an illness? It’s only an abnormal human condition. Yet this
Dafa of ours is for saving people and is for cultivation of the Main Primordial
Spirit; if his Main Primordial Spirit isn’t taking control, to whom is
Dafa given? So we don’t let him attend the seminars. If it’s karma or possessing
spirits that direct him, can his karma or possessing spirits be saved?
This is the reason. Besides, people would say, “Look, he became insane
because of practicing Falun Gong.” That would damage us greatly.

Question: Dating can give rise to many attachments in us. Should
I stop the relationship with my boyfriend or should I let things take their
own course, get married, and have children?

Teacher: As a matter of fact, I’ve said that human society still
needs to reproduce. If the number of our Dafa disciples were several billion
instead of 100 million, wouldn’t this become a very serious problem? Isn’t
this the issue? I’ve asked you to conform to everyday people to the greatest
extent possible in your conduct. Actually, you can do it; you’re just setting
too high a standard for yourself. Of course, I’m not opposed to overly-high
standards. I think that you should be in keeping with everyday people as
much as possible. Doing it that way by self-imposition can cause society
to misunderstand us, bringing about certain damage to the Fa. While you
haven’t reached that level, you will suffer the agony of enduring the attachment.
If you’ve truly reached that level, I’m not against it; if you haven’t,
do the best you can to let things happen naturally.

Balance this relationship well. You really won’t be able to date anymore
if all of your emotions are indeed removed. Before you reach that state,
however, I think you should still act in accordance with the ways of humankind.
You definitely won’t drop down because of getting married—that won’t happen.

Question: If someone was an animal in his past life, can he reach
Beyond-Triple-World-Law (Chu-Shi-Jian-Fa) through cultivation in this life?

Teacher: Let me give an example: A person may have come from
a very high level, but during the course of his reincarnations he might
not have been a human in all of his lives. He may have been this or that.
Anyway, he reincarnated into a human at this stage. You [may] have reincarnated
into an animal prior to this stage, but it can’t be said that you are an
animal. You have simply been in the course of the six-fold path of reincarnation.
What’s most important is what your true being is.

Question: Sometimes I can enlighten to things when reading the books
and studying the Fa. But sometimes I can’t enlighten even after reading
the book two or three times.

Teacher: You definitely won’t enlighten to something if you intentionally
seek to enlighten to it. You should take this book and just read it. It’s
called “attaining naturally without pursuit.” I was just saying yesterday
that when you encounter a problem, don’t try to find the pertinent sections
to read—you won’t find them. A person usually attains something naturally,
without pursuing it. Just pick up the book and open it at random, and it’s
guaranteed that you’ll find what you should acquire today. After I’ve said
this, however, some people will interpret it as: “Good. From now on, when
I read the book I’ll just open it at random.” This would then become yet
another attachment, and you wouldn’t be able to find what’s sought after
again. Once more, there’s the problem of pursuit—it’s just in a different
form.

Question: We firmly believe in you and Falun Dafa. We heard that
recently there have been some troubles in Mainland China. How should we
deal with it?

Teacher: There have been constant troubles since the day I started
to teach the Fa. Why? If a righteous Fa were spread without any disturbances
by evil or could be understood by everyone, in my opinion, its level would
be the same as that of humans, right? In that case it wouldn’t be able
to save people. There is interference just because there are people who
can’t understand it, or the evil wants to disrupt it upon realizing that
it’s the righteous Fa. Although this Fa has been disseminated, it is extremely
important how it’s spread, how it saves people, how Dafa itself and I act
when disruptions are encountered, and whether the course taken is straight.
This has a direct relationship with whether the Fa is righteous and is
able to save people. Doesn’t this make sense? So there have been constant
trials and hardships. Every step we’ve taken has been righteous. Even if
someone intended to attack us by seizing on one error and ignoring all
the good facts, that person wouldn’t be able to find anything wrong since
the course we’ve taken has been extremely righteous. This is the way we’ve
come this far. This is how we’ve established our own mighty virtue through
trials and hardships, and only in this way can we leave something for later
generations to talk about. We can also leave for later generations the
experiences and lessons accumulated through undergoing and overcoming various
tribulations. Only this way can the Fa possess mighty virtue, right?

Question: Master, you have said that because we practice cultivation
among everyday people, we have to be in keeping with the way of everyday
people as much as possible. In the U.S., sometimes it’s inconvenient to
spread the Fa to the public without a registered organization.

Teacher: A Dafa association has been registered in the U.S.,
but we can’t regard this organization as an ordinary human undertaking.
It merely creates for our Fa an environment for practicing the cultivation
system legally and a safeguard for you to engage in cultivation legally.
These are its only purposes. You definitely shouldn’t regard this entity
itself as some sort of enterprise. I’ve said that a great way has no form,
and you aren’t permitted to concentrate your attention on some project.
Even the effort to put together this big conference today is to be integrated
into one’s practice of cultivation. The students aren’t charging any fee
because it’s a voluntary organization; however, it’s not a religion.

Question: I live by myself and have few contacts with other people.
My family is in China. I study the Fa in my spare time at home. Is this
environment…?

Teacher: Whatever way you practice cultivation is fine. As long
as you regard yourself as a cultivator at every moment and are studying
and doing the exercises, you won’t be left out. It’s better that you come
out to exercise.

Question: Do we need to repel interference from all sorts of messages
throughout the entire cultivation process?

Teacher: When you perform the exercises, if you can really hear
some voices, if there are messages in your mind, or if some thoughts are
interfering with you, you have to get rid of them. If they’re strong, you
can treat them as a third party or as thoughts of others that have nothing
to do with you. Why should I point this out to you this way? It’s because
everything of yours is at your command. Your arms, legs, fingers, and mouth
can move whatever way you want them to move. Why is that? It’s because
they are yours. When you want to reach ding, the thoughts don’t become
tranquil; the more you want them to be tranquil, the more restless they
get. Are those thoughts you? Would you acknowledge them as you? They’re
karma and notions that you’ve acquired throughout your life. That’s why
you should regard them as a third party: “You keep on thinking, and I’ll
watch you do that.” This time, you jump out of them. If you can truly distinguish
them, this equates to your having made a clean break from them and your
having found yourself. This is also practicing cultivation and doing so
can remove them quickly. If you can truly discern them, they will be scared
since it’s time for them to be eliminated.

Question: Master, Zhuan Falun is being left for future generations
and your picture is in it. Yet you’ve also said that people in the future
won’t know your appearance.

Teacher: Zhuan Falun isn’t being left for future generations.
People in the future won’t know about the existence of Zhuan Falun. So
although the Fa I’ve taught is profound and many heavenly secrets have
been revealed, if people that have heard the Fa indeed reach Consummation
in the future, wouldn’t I have only taught it to gods? Humans would still
not know. That’s why I teach you like this. I hope that all of you will
be able to reach Consummation.

As for the books, they can be taken care of very easily. At a certain
time, we could make them become plain paper without a single word on them.

Question: How should we handle certain versions of Zhuan Falun that
are missing rows and sentences?

Teacher: There are many such instances in the pirated editions
of Zhuan Falun. Make sure you are careful with this. If you find missing
words or rows, add them with your pen. In the future, don’t buy any more
books with missing words or rows. In other words, you can buy books with
the original typesetting; don’t ever buy books with a new typesetting.

Question: There are some students who used to do various qigong practices.
Now, when spreading the Fa, they first talk about what they used to practice
in order to attract students.

Teacher: Some of you do have this sort of ordinary human intent,
but you can’t say that such a person is no good. In these two days of speeches,
I also found that some people kept mentioning the things in their pasts.
In general, what everyone has said has been quite good; it’s just that
there were still people who exhibited their ordinary human intentions.
When spreading Dafa you should no longer mention at all what you learned
previously, because you have already made a clean break with it. It doesn’t
belong to you, and it’s not a part of what you want to attain. Wouldn’t
that be the same as your promoting dual or multiple cultivation ways?

Question: Teacher, could you please tell us more about the stipulation
that no money should be kept at the assistance centers? In this commercial
society of the U.S., it’s hard to get things done without involving money.

Teacher: Let me tell you that no one can change this: The assistance
centers absolutely cannot keep any money. Suppose that during the current
period a little money were left after selling books and that we wanted
to use that money to do some things right away. No money is involved in
principle, but in actuality it is involved. If this goes on for a long
time, it will become endless and you will be practically keeping money
and property. Actually, let me tell you that when we do things to spread
the Fa, I think that some financially capable students might take care
of those trivial expenses. For instance, a big conference hall like this
one today was paid for by one of our students. In order to enable people
to obtain the Fa, he did a good thing. Perhaps what he obtains is even
more. Nonetheless, I think I’m just talking about the idea. The path we
take must be righteous—we must take this path in an upright manner.

Question: Is it true that the higher the level, the closer it is
to the original matter? This would explain why flowers cast by heavenly
girls can pass through the body of a Bodhisattva but can’t pass through
the body of an Arhat.

Teacher: It’s not like that. What you’re referring to is the
difference in substances; what I refer to is the difference in realms and
in Attainment Status. Of course, differences in Attainment Status can cause
differences in the particles of your body—this is certain. But differences
in particles are not a prerequisite. The level of xinxing and Attainment
Status are the prerequisite.

Today’s questions are basically all answered. New students should read
the book more. If you want to learn it and cultivate, go read the book.
A Fa-conference is hard to come by. Had I told you about elementary-level
things, this conference would be practically fruitless for those of you
sitting here since you wouldn’t have heard what you should have heard.
The purpose of the conference is to enable everyone to advance more quickly
and reach Consummation sooner. Meanwhile, it can also carry the Fa forward
and enable more people to obtain the Fa. So I think you should improve
a great deal after this conference. At the same time, we should also let
more people who haven’t yet gained the Fa obtain it. I’m telling you that
there are still many savable people in the white and other races who haven’t
yet obtained the Fa. Of course, I don’t force you to do these things; however
much you can do is fine. The Fa saves predestined people. You can only
advise people to be kind, but you can’t compel them to cultivate—this is
how it is. I hope that everyone advances more quickly and is able to reach
Consummation soon.